Health Minister Claims Inactive BPJS PBI Participants Still Served, DPR Member: Don't Speak Without Basis

DPR Commission IX member from the NasDem faction, Irma Chaniago, criticised Health Minister (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin for stating that 11 million inactive BPJS PBI participants are still being served over the past three months. Irma urged Minister Budi not to speak without basis.

She initially conveyed that public healthcare services are increasingly disrupted due to budget efficiencies. She questioned the government’s presence.

“Access to public healthcare services, with the efficiency of regional transfers, is making it even harder for the underprivileged to obtain public healthcare access, where is the government?” said Irma during a working meeting with the Health Minister and Social Affairs Minister at the DPR RI, Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

She then highlighted Budi’s statement that inactive BPJS PBI participants are still being served. According to her, hospitals are not implementing the government’s directives.

“So if it was stated earlier that DJSN said, ‘If there are people in emergency coming to the hospital, they can still be paid and served’. That’s what you said, sir, hospitals don’t accept it, sir. So Minister, don’t speak without basis either, you’ve issued a circular, sir, but in fact the hospitals don’t follow up on that circular,” she said.

Irma asked the Health Minister to monitor the situation on the ground. She claimed to have received direct reports from the public who were not served because their BPJS membership was inactive.

“Who is doing the control? Who did you ask to do the control when hospitals do not serve the deactivated public, they cannot be served by hospitals?” Irma asked.

“We in the electoral district receive reports like, ‘Mrs Irma, they said it could be 3 months, now I go to the hospital and cannot, not served by the hospital’, so who is doing the control? That must be answered by the Health Minister,” she continued.

Previously, Health Minister Budi had assured that inactive BPJS PBI participants are still being served. Budi mentioned that he had issued a circular regarding that.

“So, these 11 million, if they come to healthcare services, they will be served,” said Budi Gunadi during the meeting.

“So the Ministry of Health has issued a letter for these 11 million people, in accordance with the DPR agreement, if they are sick and come to the hospital, they will be served,” he added.