Kalla: Regional Govt will Cover BPJS Premium

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that regional governments will be asked to cover the service charges provided by state health insurance agency BPJS Kesehatan, because it is impossible for the agency to control the nation-wide implementation of health services.

"It is impossible for BPJS to manage and control every institution involved, [which include] 18,000 community health centers (puskesmas) and thousands of hospitals—that's just impossible. So, [provincial governments] must help," Kalla said at the Vice President's Office in Jakarta Friday, October 7, 2016.

According to the Vice President, BPJS's autonomy must be run by local governments; regencies and provincial governments must help oversee the implementation of BPJS services. This will result in efficient use of funds. This is also related to the many numbers of frauds in the use of BPJS services such as medicine services, as well as services in hospitals, health centers. There are also cases of frauds by the BPJS patients.

The regional governments, Kalla said, must take responsibilities over the BPJS services in their respective territories, including covering some of the agency's costs and expenses. The central government, he said, will cover the premium payments of aided participants (PBI).

"Other payments are covered, monitored and supervised and by each province and regency." 

However, BPJS services must be given in compliance with the national standard. President Joko Widodo, said Kalla, has instructed that provincial and regional governments are involved in the implementation of BPJS.

"BPJS alone cannot supervise and verify everything on a national scale, that's not possible," he said.

AMIRULLAH