Legislator Deplores Health Workers Mocking BPJS Patient, Demands Strict Sanctions
Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) Ashabul Kahfi has responded to allegations that health workers (nakes) insulted a BPJS patient who complained about having to wait eight hours for an inpatient room. He expressed regret over the health workers’ statements and urged strict sanctions if the allegations prove true.
“I deeply regret the emergence of satirical, demeaning, and even insulting comments directed at a patient who was struggling to obtain healthcare services. Especially if it is true that the comments were made by medical personnel or health workers,” Ashabul said when contacted on Thursday (6/8/2026).
Ashabul stressed that the healthcare profession demands not only competence but also empathy, ethics, and respect for patient dignity. “Joking about illness, death, or telling a patient to go to the mortuary is clearly inappropriate and cannot be dismissed as mere banter on social media,” he added.
Nevertheless, Ashabul asked the Ministry of Health and relevant stakeholders to first verify the identities of the health workers suspected of insulting the BPJS patient. He urged that these health workers be investigated.
“If it is proven that they are health workers and there has been an ethical or disciplinary violation, there must be strict and proportionate sanctions. This is important to maintain public trust in health workers as a whole,” he said.
Furthermore, Ashabul also highlighted the issue of the BPJS patient waiting up to eight hours. He expressed hope that this issue would not be overshadowed by the social media uproar.
“The Ministry of Health, BPJS Kesehatan, district health offices, and the hospital must trace the chronology of the service, bed availability, the patient’s medical condition, and the reasons the patient had to wait so long. Do not jump to conclusions about the cause of the patient’s death before medical examination results are available, but the quality and speed of service must still be evaluated transparently,” he asserted.
He therefore urged that this case be thoroughly investigated. “Both the service aspect and the alleged ethical violations. BPJS patients must not be treated as second-class citizens. BPJS membership is a right to health insurance, not a reason to slow down service or demean patients,” he said.
He expressed hope that this case would serve as a correction for all parties. He also conveyed his deepest condolences over the death of Yurizal Tri Chaerawan.
“In the presence of a sick patient, what is needed is fast service, good communication, and empathy, not insults. I also convey my deepest condolences over the passing of the late Yurizal. May the bereaved family be given strength and fortitude,” he said.
The case came to light after a post by BPJS patient Yurizal Tri Chaerawan went viral on social media. On 22 July 2026, via the Threads account @yurizaltrich, Yurizal said he had waited eight hours for an inpatient room. In his post, he did not name the hospital where he was being treated.
“8 hours and still no room. I don’t want to name the hospital because I use BPJS,” Yurizal wrote.
Instead of receiving sympathy, the post was flooded with insulting comments. Some accounts even suggested that Yurizal move to the mortuary to get a room faster. There were also comments that made light of serious illness and self-harm in a joking tone.
A number of accounts that wrote these comments are suspected to be doctors, nurses, or other health workers based on information listed on their social media profiles. However, the identities and professions of the account owners have not yet been fully verified.
The discussion widened after Yurizal was reported to have died on 31 July 2026. The sad news was conveyed by his cousin via social media and made Yurizal’s old post go viral again.