Poor people receive free health care
Poor people receive free health care
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari launched a health
insurance program on Monday to cover the medical costs for more
than 36 million poor people in a bid to offset the government's
decision to raise fuel prices earlier this month.
"Poor people will no longer be charged a single rupiah to pay
for their medical treatment, room charges or even photocopies of
documents required by hospitals," she announced on Monday.
The scheme, known as the Health Treatment Program for the Poor
(PJPKMM), will cover the insurance premium of Rp 5,000 (US$0.5)
per person for a total of 36,146,700 poorest people, based on
last year's data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
For the program, the government has allocated Rp 2.1 trillion
of the total Rp 20.3 trillion it saved from cutting the fuel
subsidies.
The insurance program will cover most types of patients,
including those hospitalized in third-class rooms, out-patients,
and those referred by doctors for treatment in Jakarta.
However, only government-run community health centers
(Puskesmas) and public hospitals will provide free medical
services.
Minister Siti Fadilah said the government had appointed state
insurance firm PT Asuransi Kesehatan (Askes) to oversee the one-
year health program.
The appointment was made based on the company's good
performance in managing insurance for civil servants, police
officers and military personnel, she explained.
"We have 12 offices in large cities, 92 branch offices and 202
area managers. So, we assure you that we can cover people in
small and isolated villages," PT Asker president director Orie
Andari Sutadji said during a press conference.
However, people that are eligible for the free health program
must wait a few more weeks, as it will only be effective by the
end of June due to the long process of registering poor people
down to the village level.
"Through the end of this month, the registration process has
only collected 20 percent of data needed," Orie said.
Fadilah said the people eligible for the program would be
issued insurance cards that would be approved by regents or
mayors. The data will be obtained by teams formed in all
villages.
Those who do not receive such cards could still use other
documents that verify their financial situation, she added.
She highlighted some obstacles arising from several provincial
administrations, including Jakarta, which insisted on running
their own health insurance programs.
"If they want to organize themselves, I can't forbid them,"
she said.
Zelfino, spokeswoman for the Jakarta health office, said that
her administration had not refused to join the program, but it
would allocate the central government's money to cover the
treatment for poor people coming from outside Jakarta or those
who do not hold a Jakarta identity card.
"We already have health insurance for poor Jakartans, which is
funded from the provincial budget. But, the fund from the
Ministry of Health will be used to cover non-Jakartans, who
cannot afford to pay hospital bills," Zelfino said. (006)