Indonesia's Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, remained silent when being asked about the hike of BPJS premium. (Image via Katadata)

Asked about the hike in BPJS premium, Finance Minister clams up

As stipulated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 75 of 2019 regarding the amendment to Perpres No. 82 of 2018 regarding Health Insurance, the Indonesian government doubles the premium of Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) for non-wage recipients (PBPU) and non-worker. The President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, generally known as Jokowi, signed the Perpres on 24 October.

For the first-class facility, the monthly premium is raised to Rp160,000 from previously Rp81,000, the second-class is Rp110,000 from Rp51,000, and the third-class is Rp42,000 from Rp25,500.

When being asked for any comment about the new regulation effective starting next year, Indonesia’s Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, refused to drop a single word about the regulation that raises the premium by 100%.

The Finance Minister was attending the 73rd Oeang Republik Indonesia (ORI) Day celebration. Sri gave comments regarding the celebration. However, when the question about BPJS premium hike popped out, she clammed up. The reporters kept asking the Finance Minister whether the government had thought about the regulations thoroughly despite controversies it reaped among the Indonesian people.

The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Puan Maharani, hoped that by the raise of BPJS premium and management improvement, the BPJS deficit could be overcome.

However, the Indonesian workers could not take it. Initially, the Indonesian workers demanded the hike be limited to 25% for each independent worker for each class. The reason was that the provincial minimum wage (UMPs) for some provinces are still considered low.

For example, Central Java’s UMP is Rp1.6 million. With the new regulations, the Indonesian workers complained that it will take almost 50% of their wages just to pay the premium, and the remaining is not sufficient for their daily needs.

Regardless, the Indonesian government still went on with the new regulations.

Source: https://bit.ly/2BWypsS