Poor promised free health services

Poor promised free health services

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Health Ministry secured Rp 500 billion (US$48 million)
this year from the state's fuel subsidy reduction to provide
medical services for the country's 37.3 million poor.

The funds will be distributed directly to 468 mainly state-
owned hospitals and 7,000 public health centers throughout
Indonesia, starting February but only till April, Minister of
Health Achmad Suyudi said Friday.

"We hope to be able to reach all of the poor people who could
not afford medical services," Suyudi said.

Aside from the usual medical services, the program also covers
Hepatitis B immunization for infants from disadvantaged families.

As a means of monitoring the funds, the hospitals and public
health services are required to provide monthly financial reports
to the Ministry of Health.

Unlike last year, however, the poor would no longer be
required to produce a letter from local authorities explaining
their status to receive medical treatment.

Suyudi said all hospitals appointed to provide such services
were told not to discriminate against poor patients.

"Hospitals should not differentiate treatment between the poor
patients and the paying patients. Everyone must be given the same
services, with or without a health card," Suyudi stressed.

The minister said that the hospitals should form a team that
would verify whether the patients were eligible for ongoing
treatment or not.

When asked about poor people in emergency situations who could
not reach the appointed hospitals, Suyudi said that any hospital
had to give treatment to all emergency patients, including the
poor.

"It is unethical for hospitals to reject those in need of
immediate medical treatment. The hospitals who do not receive
this fund must at least provide first aid, and it could later
transfer the patient to hospitals that receive government funds,"
he said.

He noted that the hospitals that give first aid should be
reimbursed. However, the technicalities were still being
discussed.

Hospitals, including private hospitals, were also required to
allocate a certain number of beds in their third class sections
for the poor, he said.

Therefore, there should be no problem for any hospital to give
first aid to poor patients.

This, however, raises questions on the effectiveness of the
program. Last year's health services for the poor program failed
as many hospitals rejected poor patients despite the fact that
they had received funding.

Private hospitals often refuse to attend patients from the
lower-income classes, while the dilapidated state-run hospitals
often offer only poor quality services.

"We'd look into it... and when there is such a thing, we would
send a stern warning letter to the hospital," Suyudi said.

"The condition in the field in very unpredictable, and there
is no such thing as a perfect system."