Bill on health insurance covers all citizens
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.