JAKARTA - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that three issues must be addressed in order to reduce the Social Security Administration Agency for Health’s (BPJS Kesehatan) deficit, namely tariffs, benefits, and ability to collect fees.
“The tariff issue is related to cooperativeness. Those who are financially able to pay more should do so, while those who are not will be covered by the government, and currently the government covers a total of over [Rp] 96 million in Jakarta and over 38 million in other regions,” said Ms Indrawati at a Joint Work Meeting with the House of Representatives’ Commission II, VIII, IX, and XI on Tuesday (18/2).
Regarding benefits, said Ms Indrawati, basic services need to be clearly defined so that the fees can be measured adequately in accordance with the benefits covered.
“This is what the Health Minister and BPJS Kesehatan should discuss together, because the law regarding BPJS Kesehatan should clearly define the basic services covered. If the services covered were unlimited, a deficit would occur no matter the fees,” said Ms Indrawati.
As for the ability to collect fees, Ms Indrawati asserted that BPJS Kesehatan must be able to collect fees appropriately and ensure that coverage participants can pay consistently. (MS)