Rp 175 Trillion in Indonesian Citizens' Funds Lost to Medical Costs, OJK Urges Switch to Insurance

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – When illness strikes, its impact extends beyond health to immediately erode finances. In Indonesia, this burden remains substantial, with out-of-pocket health expenditures reaching Rp 175 trillion.

This figure reflects the high financial risk faced by the public. This is because 28.8% of citizens are not yet protected by BPJS Kesehatan or commercial insurance, meaning treatment costs must be borne personally.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is encouraging change to prevent this burden from recurring. OJK’s Executive Head of Insurance, Guarantee, and Pension Fund Supervision, Ogi Prastomiyono, stated that they have coordinated with ministries and institutions to expand insurance participation.

“We are working together with ministries and institutions to lower barriers so that they can join commercial insurance programmes,” he said during the PPDP Regulatory Dissemination Day event on Monday (13/4/2026).

“How to make the process better and more efficient, and so on,” he added.

Currently, the contribution of commercial insurance to national health financing is still limited at around 5%. OJK, together with the Ministry of Health, is striving to increase this role so that financing is no longer dominated by personal expenditures.

“We want to increase it; we are now working with the Ministry of Health,” Ogi said.

Meanwhile, by the end of 2025, the number of insured individuals in the life insurance industry was recorded at 168.03 million people, growing 8.6% annually. This trend signals that public awareness is beginning to rise, although protection still needs to be expanded.