Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, Jul 17, 2014
Jakarta.
The number of Indonesians participating in the ambitious national health
insurance program launched under the Social Security Organizing Body, or BPJS,
is expected to grow next year. Current figures have already surpassed the 2014
target, according to an official.
“Based on
our data, more than 125 million have enrolled in the program since last year —
higher than our initial target of 121.6 million,” BPJS spkesperson Irfan
Humiadi told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.
“This
result is unexpected. Even though we have reached our target, we’re still
actively putting out information and increasing our marketing efforts to
promote the health scheme,” Irfan said.
The
insurance applicants include millions of people who were already covered by the
community health protection scheme (Jamkesmas), the regional health protection
scheme (Jamkesda), and civil servants who were covered by insurance provider
Asuransi Kesehatan or Askes, among others.
Irfan said
employees from the private sector have also registered, and industrial-based
companies and businesses have demonstrated good cooperation.
“Around
four million have already registered for the insurance,” Irfan said.
“Motorcycle
taxi drivers, street vendors and traders at traditional markets are also
included within this group,” he added.
Nevertheless,
Junaedi, the BPJS director in charge of registration, said the number of
employees in the private sector who had jointed the national insurance system
was lower than hoped for.
Only
146,878 workers, or 15 percent of the private sector, have joined the health
insurance scheme to date — a far cry from the BPJS’s target of one million.
“We always
set our targets high, because the participation from the private sector is also
high. Last June, the participation increased by 180 percent,” Junaedi said on
Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Applicants
have been asked to file their registrations with the compulsory government
program independently.
BPJS aims
for national insurance to manage the health coverage of more than 200 million
Indonesians, out of the total population of some 250 million, by 2019.
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