Ambitious health scheme for low-income bracket begun

By Yoko N. Sari

BANDUNG, West Java (JP): Saturday, the government launched an ambitious project to provide free medical service to the poor which, if successful, will reach nearly 26 million people who still live below the poverty line.

Minister of Health Sujudi gave out health cards to about 20 heads of family chosen from the Lebak and Bandung regencies during a ceremony to mark the launching of the project at Soreang village on Saturday.

The cardholders and their dependents are entitled to free medical services and medicine from any community health centers and government-owned hospitals.

A similar scheme to provide free health services to the poor exists but it involves cumbersome and complex bureaucratic procedures that virtually nobody has bothered to apply.

"The patients would have died by the time they received the final approval," Sujudi said matter of factly about the present scheme.

The project is being tried out in all 27 provinces throughout Indonesia except for East Timor. Each province will select two regencies or mayoralties for the purpose.

East Timor is exempted because the province has already introduced a health insurance scheme for all the people in the province.

If the pilot project proves successful, the medical card scheme will be introduced in the 20,000 villages across the nation which have been classified as needy starting next year.

"This program is intended to give poor people greater access to health services which were out of there reach," Sujudi said.

Poverty

The program is tied to the government's drive to eradicate poverty, he said. "With better health, these people will achieve greater productivity and therefore improve their welfare."

The ceremony was attended by State Minister of Population and chairman of the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN) Haryono Suyono, and West Java Governor R. Nuriana.

During the ceremony, Haryono also presented Rp 1.8 billion (US$850,000) to the West Java provincial government that would be used as seed capital for medical and family planning personnel.

The money could be used to train midwives or nurses, or as loans for midwives to open their own practices and buy equipment.

During the discussion with midwives, Sujudi rejected their demands to be provided with motorbikes instead of bicycles.

Many midwives had complained that in the rough terrain where they operate, they could not use the bicycles provided to them by the government.

"It's impossible to ride my bicycle on hilly roads," said Eti Rositawati, a midwife at Sekarjaya village, who was present at the meeting.