Indonesia to hike health insurance premiums amid coronavirus pandemic

May 14, 2020, 02.15 PM | Source: Reuters
Indonesia to hike health insurance premiums amid coronavirus pandemic

ILUSTRASI. JAKARTA,10/03-KENAIKAN IURAN BPJS BATAL. Petugas melayani pendaftaran peserta di Kantor Pelayanan Kantor Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial (BPJS) Kesehatan Jakarta Pusat, Matraman, Jakarta, Seleasa (10/03). Mahkamah Agung (MA) mengabulkan 'Judicial Revie


INSURANCE - JAKARTA. Indonesia will raise premiums for health insurance provided by a state company but also increased subsidies for the lowest rate, impacting tens of thousands of policyholders, as the country battles the coronavirus, a minister said on Wednesday.

The government will hike by 65% the lowest premium managed by insurer BPJS Kesehatan to 42,000 rupiah ($2.83) a month starting in July, but will subsidise all of the increase, according to a copy of a government regulation backing the measure.

Premiums for other policies will be nearly doubled, with the highest rate to reach 150,000 rupiah a month, with no subsidy provided.

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A finance ministry official said an additional 3.1 trillion rupiah ($208.05 million) has been allocated to subsidise the hike.

BPJS Kesehatan, which gives universal health coverage for around 223 million people making it the biggest single-payer health insurance in the world, has been having cash flow trouble for years, regularly booking claims far exceeding the premiums it collects.

Its premiums are regulated by the government, which also pays for coverage for more than 100 million people on low incomes.

"We hope (the new) premiums would allow BPJS to continue with its operations," said Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia's chief economic affairs minister.

Editor: Yudho Winarto

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