Ministry of Social Affairs Guides Regional Social Services Data Operators Nationwide on PBI Reactivation
The Data and Information Centre (Pusdatin) of the Ministry of Social Affairs has directly provided guidance on the simplified reactivation process for Health Insurance Contribution Subsidy Recipients (PBI JK) to data operators at regional social services offices across Indonesia.
The socialisation session was held online via Zoom under the theme ‘Challenges and Policies on PBI-JK: Efforts to Ensure Accurately Targeted Health Insurance’. The event was attended by heads of regional social services offices and data operators from across Indonesia on Wednesday (18 February). In his remarks, Head of Pusdatin at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Joko Widiarto, affirmed that the reactivation process is carried out selectively and based on the latest data.
Of the 11 million PBI participants deactivated in February 2026, some 106,153 have been automatically reactivated, and 44,500 have undergone regular reactivation, with 42,367 reinstated as PBI JK participants and 2,133 transferred to other segments such as independent or regional PBI schemes. Regarding the village proposal mechanism, Joko explained that the mandatory document to be uploaded is a medical referral letter from a healthcare facility, whilst a Certificate of Financial Hardship (SKTM) from the village is optional.
“The mandatory requirement is a letter from a healthcare facility stating that the individual requires medical services — it does not have to be a chronic illness. For instance, someone about to give birth would also qualify. Then there must be confirmation from the Social Services office that the individual is still eligible,” said Joko in his statement on Wednesday (18 February 2026).
During the dialogue session, a representative data operator from South Konawe’s Social Services office raised a case from their area. They explained that a resident classified under decile 2, with all facilities and PBI status still active, was nonetheless recorded in the system as excluded with a notation identifying them as a family member of a civil servant, military, or police officer.
A representative data operator from Hulu Sungai Utara Regency’s Social Services office also reported a significant decline in the number of recipients in their area, in contrast to other regions which had actually seen increases. Additionally, they highlighted the issue of domicile transfers, where the situation creates confusion at the village level because participant data often remains registered at the old address despite updates having been submitted.
Joko reminded data operators at regional social services offices to ensure the public understands the importance of filling in data according to actual conditions.
“Please explain to residents that we can only record data. Fill it in according to the true situation. If there is incorrect input or if someone lends their identity for other purposes, it can affect their decile ranking and social assistance,” he stressed.
Furthermore, Joko emphasised the importance of data updating based on the latest decile rankings as the basis for determining social assistance. He explained that DTSEN data sourced from the Socio-Economic Registry (Regsosek), the Acceleration of Extreme Poverty Elimination (PPKE) programme, and the Ministry of Social Affairs’ legacy database must be continuously updated to ensure welfare rankings (decile rankings) are accurate.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) are exploring system integration so that data updates can be directly synchronised. Joko affirmed the commitment to a fully operational 24/7 PBI JK reactivation service.
“Our team is on standby 24 hours a day, seven working days. If the submission is complete and clear, reactivation can be processed within one day. However, if there are discrepancies in the National Identity Number (NIK) or unclear documents, we must naturally reject it until corrections are made,” Joko explained.
“We understand that you in the field are the frontline workers who deal directly with the public. If there are obstacles, we are ready to listen and follow up,” he said.
Concluding the socialisation session, he expressed appreciation for the collaboration of all regional social services offices and offered apologies ahead of the fasting month. He expressed hope that this synergy would bring benefit and blessing to the communities in need.
PBI JK reactivation is the process of restoring the membership status of Health Insurance Contribution Subsidy Recipients (PBI JK) to active status. Reactivation may be carried out for individuals who have been deactivated due to the following circumstances:
- Being in decile 0 (not yet ranked) or deciles 6-10, yet still requiring immediate healthcare services due to chronic illness, catastrophic conditions, or medical emergencies that endanger life.
- Not being registered in the DTSEN database.
- Being an infant born to a mother who is a PBI JK recipient but whose membership has been removed.
The reactivation mechanism for PBI JK recipients follows these stages:
- PBI JK participants whose status is inactive at the time they seek medical treatment may request a medical referral letter from a hospital or healthcare facility in their area.
- PBI JK participants report to the Social Services office or village/sub-district office to have their status reactivated.
- Social Services or village/sub-district officers promptly verify the participant’s data.
- The Social Services office or village/sub-district issues a reactivation certificate and inputs data through the SIKS NG application (reactivation sub-menu).
- Ministry of Social Affairs officers verify the reactivation request documents (reactivation data from villages/sub-districts must first be verified by the Social Services verifier).
- Documents that have been verified and approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs are then forwarded to BPJS Kesehatan for further verification.
- Once BPJS Kesehatan has approved the reactivation request, BPJS Kesehatan will reinstate the participant’s membership.