Health Minister References Polemic That Saw Gus Ipul 'Hammered' by Public over BPJS Changes

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has referenced the intense public backlash directed at Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf, known as Gus Ipul, when the latter carried out a rotation of subsidised health insurance recipients (PBI BPJS Kesehatan) several weeks ago.

Budi made the remarks at a forum on Optimising the Implementation of the National Health Insurance Programme in Jakarta, broadcast online on Monday, 23 February 2026.

Budi began by stating that the Social Health Insurance Administration Body (BPJS) deficit has widened further this year, making a premium increase urgently necessary. However, he acknowledged that such a policy would be difficult to implement given the potential for public protest.

He said the high sensitivity surrounding the issue sometimes left him, as a policymaker, feeling uneasy. He cited as an example the wave of protests that greeted Gus Ipul’s decision to deactivate 11 million PBI health insurance recipients in early February. “When Gus Ipul’s [deactivation] policy came out, I saw how badly he was hammered,” Budi said.

Budi went on to explain that the BPJS premium increase would only affect a minority group — wealthier individuals in deciles 7 to 10 according to the National Socio-Economic Unified Database (DTSEN) ranking. The majority of the population, those in deciles 1 to 6, would not be affected as their contributions are covered by the state.

The problem, Budi noted, is that the affected minority tends to protest loudly, creating an uproar similar to what occurred during the PBI recipient data update. “In Indonesia, when this minority makes noise on social media, it appears as though they represent all 280 million Indonesians,” Budi said. “So we as national leaders also feel uneasy.”

Previously, on 2 February, the Social Affairs Minister deactivated 11 million PBI BPJS Health recipients. The sudden mass deactivation occurred as part of an update to social assistance recipient data through the implementation of the National Socio-Economic Unified Database (DTSEN), which serves as the single reference point for all government assistance programmes. The incident caused an uproar as it left dialysis patients unable to receive treatment after their subsidised BPJS status was deactivated.