Yogyakarta, May 31st 2021━The Department of Social Development and Welfare (PSdK) FISIPOL UGM held another SoDeT (Social Development Talks) webinar on Monday (31/5) morning. On this occasion, the topic is “A Peek to Indonesia’s Social Security Program” with Muttaqien MPH., AAK., as the Vice Head in the National Social Security Council General Policy Commission. The event was held through a Zoom meeting on 10.00-12.00 WIB and was moderated by Kafa Abdallah Kafaa, S.Sos., M.A., a lecturer in PSdK FISIPOL UGM.
One of the social security programs that receives a lot of attention is the health social security program. According to the baseline, there is around 83% participation in the Health Insurance Program per May 15th 2020, meanwhile in 2024 it will reach 98%. This is a big task for the BPJS Health sector on how to fulfill the demands of the participants in the midst of the pandemic.
Muttaqien explained that before the National Health Insurance program there were only three options for financially challenged citizens which are to have no choice but to get the health service needed, get the health service and pay how much they can, or not get the health service at all. Those three options may lead citizens to poverty.
“That is why, according to Law No 40/2004, the government does the health insurance program to ensure that the majority of the citizens are insured, so that when they need to get help, they don’t fall to the pits of poverty,” Muttaqien added.
If we analyze the NHI program from 2014 to 2021, the recurrent issue is structural deficits, which refers to how the BPJS program couldn’t pay for the hospital’s bill. This is because the insurance is underpriced which happens when a government sets the financial contribution below the actuaria. Other than that, it is also worsened by adverse selection, low participation, and high catastrophic cost. Finally, the implication is that the public’s trust towards the program is low even though the public can get a lot of benefits from joining the program.
“That is why we urge the government to maintain this program and increase its quality, therefore there needs to be an adjustment to the budget pooling of the health insurance program with the actuaria, ATP (ability to pay), and to push for social justice,” Muttaqien said.