REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Boediono visited the headquarters of state-owned medical insurance company PT Askes to inspect preparations for the implementation of social health insurance, which will start on Jan. 1, 2014.
Boediono was accompanied by Health Minister Nafsiah Mboy and was greeted by PT Askes President Director Fachmi Idris, who later reported the preparations that have been made so far.
The Vice President also spoke with the 12 heads of the health insurance divisions located in 12 Indonesian cities.
Based on Regulation No. 24/2011 related to the Social Health Insurance Agency (BPJS), PT Askes will become BPJS Health from Jan. 1, 2014. BPJS Health will provide health insurance for the Indonesian public.
BPJS is a public legal entity established to provide social insurances, namely health insurance earlier provided by PT Askes and manpower insurance, previously provided by PT Jamsostek.
Every Indonesian citizen, as well as foreign nationals working in Indonesia for the last six months can become a member of BPJS Health.
As part of its commitment to provide universal medical coverage for its citizens, Indonesia is investing billions of dollars in a social health insurance system, which will be managed by the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) from January of 2014.
"The system will be implemented by 2014. Under this system, poor people cannot be rejected by hospitals when they seek medical treatment," the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono stated recently.
Under the scheme, the government will bear the medical insurance costs for around 86.4 million poor people, while premiums for medical insurance for the working population will be paid by their companies.
The government has also set a target of providing universal health coverage for all Indonesians by 2019.
BPJS, as a state-sponsored social security provider, will start its operations by January in 2014 and is expected to provide healthcare services to over 251 million Indonesians by 2019.
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