Rupiah Weakness Triggers Rise in Healthcare Costs, YLKI Warns Patient Rights Must Not Be Sacrificed

The weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar is considered likely to impact the rising operational costs of healthcare facilities due to a high dependence on imported products, from medical devices to pharmaceutical raw materials.

The Daily Chairperson of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), Niti Emiliana, stated that the majority of healthcare facilities and infrastructure in Indonesia still rely on imports. Consequently, when the rupiah weakens, the prices of medical devices and medicines also soar.

"Undeniably, the weakening rupiah has a domino effect on the health sector. Much of the healthcare infrastructure remains imported, including raw materials for medicines. This condition inevitably impacts the increase in operational costs at healthcare service facilities," said Niti Emiliana when contacted on Tuesday (9/6).

YLKI has therefore warned that the surge in hospital operational costs must not be used as a reason to reduce patient rights, particularly for participants of the National Health Insurance (JKN).

According to Niti, her organisation is concerned that cost pressures resulting from expensive imported medicines and medical devices could trigger fraudulent practices on the ground by unscrupulous health facility operators.

"The greatest risk we are concerned about is the emergence of fraudulent practices or covert tactics by unscrupulous health facilities to cover the ballooning operational costs," she said.

She cited a number of practices potentially detrimental to patients, such as restricting access to medicines for JKN patients, alleged double INA-CBGs claims in JKN services, and the imposition of additional charges on patients that ultimately increase out-of-pocket expenses for the public.

YLKI also called on the government to strengthen supervision of healthcare service facilities amidst the economic pressures resulting from the rupiah’s depreciation. Additionally, the government is urged to accelerate the strengthening of the domestic pharmaceutical and medical device industry to reduce reliance on imports.

"The public must not be the party that suffers the most from the weakening rupiah and rising healthcare service costs," she stated.