Bill on health insurance covers all citizens

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a bid to improve the poor health insurance system, the House of Representatives has drafted an initiative do you mean "initial"? bill on national social health insurance that covers all citizens.

"All factions will give their general views on the bill on May 27 at the House plenary session. It is important to have a new health insurance system, as health is one of basic human needs," chairman of Commission VII overseeing labor and health affairs Posma L Tobing said on Monday.

The bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, is due for discussion, pending the government-sponsored bill on the same issue.

Article 3 (1) of the bill clearly states that all citizens are required to register themselves as policyholders of the social health insurance scheme.

However, full public participation in the insurance scheme, which will cover the poor, will be implemented gradually, Article 3 (2) says.

Article 6 (2) states that the monthly premium of the health insurance will be set at a maximum of six percent of a participant's monthly salary.

Workers in the formal sector will have to pay their own premiums, with some contribution from their employers, but for poor people, the government will be responsible for their premium, the bill says.

"The government will gradually increase the coverage of poor people to be included in the health insurance scheme," Posma said on the sidelines of a hearing with state insurance companies PT Jamsostek and PT Askes. "The good point is that we want to start covering poor people in health insurance."

At present, only formal workers, including civil servants who are registered for health insurance, are covered, but informal workers like farmers and fishermen, are outside the scheme.

Many informal workers are categorized as poor. There are now about 40 million poor people in the country.

The country's health insurance is now provided by PT Askes and PT Jamsostek, both state government enterprises.

Askes mainly provides health insurance for civil servants, who total about four million, although it has expanded its service to private sector employees.

Jamsostek essentially provides a variety of insurance schemes to private company workers, including provident fund and health insurance.

In 2001, Jamsostek members totaled 9.3 million of 27.3 million employees in the formal work sector. The total labor force in the country was 90.81 million at that time.

Posma said there might be an adjustment to the current profit- oriented providers, Askes and Jamsostek, to become nonprofit institutions in managing health insurance services.

He added that the bill stipulated sanctions for hospitals that failed to provide good service for health insurance policyholders.

Many policyholders of health insurance issued by Askes have complained about poor treatment provided by hospitals. Some say they are treated like second-class citizens.

Askes president Orie Andari Sutadji said the company was ready to comply with the planned health insurance scheme.

"Of course, there will be a new implementation body to provide the health insurance scheme. I expect "Expect" or "hope"? "Expect" makes it sound as though there's been collusion already! Askes will be appointed the implementation body in the new system," she said.