Council endorses rise in health center fees
Council endorses rise in health center fees
JAKARTA (JP): City council accepted a proposal to increase the fees of social and public facilities, to replace the old regulation which was issued in 1985, during a plenary meeting yesterday.
The new regulation stipulates new fees for various social facilities owned by the city administration such as Puskesmas (community health centers), museums and the planetarium.
In the plenary meeting all factions and commissions stated that it is time to increase the fees because the old ones cannot cover the operating costs of each facility.
City council also stated the rise can increase city revenue.
City council's Commission E, in charge of people's welfare, said that with the rise Puskesmas will receive more funds because each center is entitled to 25 percent of the fees, received by the center, for operational costs.
"Puskesmas will not ask patients for additional fees by saying that it needs the funds to cover its operating costs," Mrs Edi Sukiswantari Probo, a member of commission E, said.
City council's Commission A, in charge of government affairs, stated that the rise is aimed at middle and upper class people because the government has set up a special program for the poor.
"Through the health card program, the government has given poor people the opportunity to receive free medical treatment," Erna Soeparman, a councilor from Commission A said.
The health card program, launched last year, is aimed at giving free medical services to the poor, who have been given the cards by the government.
However, with the increase of Puskesmas fees, city council expects that services should also be improved because, for years, there have been many complaints about its poor service.
The United Development Party faction cited an example in which there are some officials who do not serve the patients properly and tend to cheat by saying that there is no medicine for the patients.
Under the new regulation the fee for health services at Puskesmas will be raised from Rp 300 to Rp 900 per patient. New fees for other health services, such as dentists, laboratories, electrocardiograms and specialist services, range from Rp 1,200 to Rp 150,000.
The regulation also stipulates that ticket prices for entry to museums and the National Monument (Monas) are also increased. The new prices range from Rp 200 for students to Rp 1,000 for adults.
Visitors who intend to use video cameras and photo cameras will pay Rp 5,000 and Rp 1,000 respectively.
The new fees for entry to sport facilities, owned by city administration, such as tennis courts, swimming pools and badminton courts, range from Rp 1,000 to Rp 3,000. (yns)