Rumours Circulate About Newborn Babies Automatically Becoming JKN Participants: BPJS Kesehatan Provides Explanation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - BPJS Kesehatan has stated that reports claiming newborn Indonesian citizens (WNI) will automatically become active participants in the Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) programme from April 2026 are inaccurate.

Head of Communications at BPJS Kesehatan, Rizzky Anugerah, explained that the current policy on registering newborn babies as JKN participants still follows the applicable regulations.

The rules state that babies must still be registered first by their parents or family to obtain BPJS Kesehatan coverage.

“According to the rules, the baby must be registered first by their family with BPJS Kesehatan. This regulation has been in place for a long time,” said Rizzky in a statement received by Kompas.com on Wednesday (8/4/2026).

If registered during that period, the baby’s JKN participation status will become active immediately.

Registration of newborn babies can be done through the WhatsApp PANDAWA service at number 08118165165 by attaching several documents, such as the mother’s ID card, Family Card, and the baby’s birth certificate.

“If the newborn baby is registered more than 28 days after birth, the JKN contributions will be charged retroactively from the date of the baby’s birth,” he explained.

Furthermore, he revealed that currently more than 98 per cent of Indonesians are registered in the JKN programme, from babies to the elderly.

“Therefore, it is important to become a JKN participant while still healthy and to ensure that JKN participation status is always active because illness can come at any time,” said Rizzky.

Regarding plans to integrate BPJS Kesehatan’s participation system with the integrated public service portal (INAku) owned by the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemenpan-RB), Rizzky affirmed that his side is ready to support government policies in accordance with applicable regulations.

He also reminded that JKN contributions are not only used to finance sick participants but also to support promotive and preventive programmes to keep healthy participants healthy.

“We hope that the public can routinely contribute by paying contributions to maintain the sustainability of the JKN programme so that it can continue to provide benefits in the future,” he concluded.