REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Some 107 districts and cities have been integrated into the national health insurance program (JKN) under the Social Security Management Agency (BPJS), a senior minister said.

"Beginning January 1, 2014, about 2,340,000 regional community health insurance (Jamkesda) participants will join the BPJS," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said here on Tuesday.

The JKN program will begin on January 1, 2014.

Agung expressed his conviction that with the integration of the JKN and the Jamkesda, universal health service would be achieved by 2019.

The National Social Security Council (DJSN) and the Ministry of Health and state-owned health insurance firm PT Askes have also reached an agreement with the Aceh Health Insurance (JKA), which will be integrated with the JKN.

DJSN Chairman Chazali Situmorang said the integration of Jamkesda into BPJS-Health must finish a three-year period, since the beginning of the BPJS-Health operation.

"All Jamkesda must have been integrated into the BPJS-Health by 2016, at the latest," he said.

Based on Law No. 24/2011 related to BPJS, the social security management agency will consist of two administrations, the BPJS-Health health security, to be administered by PT Askes, and BPJS-Manpower on social security schemes for workers, to be administered by PT Jamsostek.

About 140 million people will have medical insurance coverage next month when Indonesia's Law No 24/2011 on Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) in the health sector becomes effective.

The 140 million covered under the scheme will include 86.4 million poor people, who were earlier covered by the Jamkesmas community health insurance program. Others were previously covered by various health insurance firms, such as PT Askes (state-owned health insurance company), PT Jamsostek (workers insurance company) and the military and police institutions.

BPJS, which is a public statutory agency, will begin operating by January 1, 2014 and is expected to provide healthcare services to over 250 million Indonesians by 2019.

Under the scheme, the government will bear the medical insurance costs for some 86.4 million underprivileged people, while premiums for medical insurance for the working population will be paid by their companies.

"The system will be implemented by 2014. Under this system, poor people cannot be rejected by hospitals when they seek medical treatment," Agung Laksono stated recently.

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