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)