Government to Issue Joint Decree, Providing Payment Certainty for 11 Million BPJS PBI Participants

The government is preparing to issue a Joint Decision Letter (SKB) between the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and BPJS Kesehatan to provide a legal framework and payment certainty for claims on behalf of 11 million Penerima Bantuan Iuran (PBI) participants currently in the transitional deactivation period. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the SKB is designed to ensure hospitals are not hesitant in providing services and that BPJS Kesehatan has a strong legal basis for making payments. “I have already discussed this with the Social Affairs Minister and the BPJS Director General; we will create a joint SKB. So, if any of those 11 or 8 million come, the hospitals must serve them—that’s my authority. Then, the BPJS Director General will be advised to pay all hospitals. To protect the BPJS Director General, the Social Affairs Minister and I will guarantee in the SKB that the premiums will be paid,” said Minister Budi in his statement on Wednesday, 15 April 2026. Budi explained that the Rp46 trillion budget for PBI JKN is under his ministry, but the authority to determine participant data lies with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thus, through this SKB, the Ministry of Social Affairs will authorise the Ministry of Health to disburse premium payments to BPJS Kesehatan for reactivated PBI participants. In the dynamic six-hour meeting from afternoon to evening, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf confirmed the step and stated that his side would also promptly process a Decree (SK) for the determination of reactivation for participants needing urgent medical services so they are re-recorded as beneficiaries. “Ready… the determination will be issued immediately. It’s called a determination letter. The reactivation is then established as a beneficiary. Yes, SK,” Saifullah affirmed. The issuance of the SKB is a solution provided by the government to give certainty to hospitals and health facilities that BPJS Kesehatan will pay treatment claims for PBI JKN patients in the transitional deactivation period. This policy is crucial because during the transitional period that has lasted several months, there has been no binding regulation, leading members of the DPR’s Commission IX to receive numerous complaints from patients, hospital leaders, and healthcare workers.