Prices of Chronic Disease Medicines Threatened by Rupiah Weakening

The weakening of the Rupiah exchange rate against the US Dollar has begun to exert serious pressure on the national health sector. The prices of medicines, particularly for the chronic disease category, are now facing the threat of significant increases. This situation has triggered concerns regarding the accessibility of healthcare services for lower-middle-class communities.

Netty Prasetiyani, a member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), revealed that rising medicine prices are difficult to avoid given that the structure of Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry remains highly dependent on foreign components. Based on gathered data, the dependence on imported pharmaceutical raw materials is a primary vulnerability when global economic stability is disrupted.

Netty explained that the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) has confirmed this potential increase. “An increase in medicine prices is almost unavoidable if referring to the current Rupah exchange rate. Indonesia’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical raw materials remains very high,” Netty stated in an official statement on Wednesday.

This condition is considered an alarm for national health security. Exchange rate fluctuations and global supply chain disruptions directly impact domestic medicine production costs. Without independence in the pharmaceutical industry, Indonesia’s health system will remain vulnerable to international economic dynamics.

Although the government, through BPOM, has prepared mitigation steps such as diversifying raw material suppliers and optimising domestic production, Netty emphasised that the final results must be directly felt by the public. She urged the government to provide tangible support for research and incentives for the local pharmaceutical industry.

Netty asserted that health is a basic need that must be protected by the state. The government is requested to intervene to ensure that global economic volatility does not diminish the people’s right to obtain decent and affordable healthcare services. “We must not allow public access to essential medicines to be disrupted,” she concluded.

Bank Indonesia (BI) stated that it continues to monitor the recent developments of the Rupiah exchange rate to maintain the stability of the domestic currency.