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City told to serve the poor
City councilors are calling for the city administration to make it easier for poor families to receive affordable healthcare
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City councilors are calling for the city administration to make it easier for poor families to receive affordable healthcare.
“The administration should make poor people its first priority and it should improve the health system,” Achmad Nur Alam Bachtiar, member of the council’s Commission A that oversees city institutions, said Thursday.
“We see that many low-income residents find it difficult to apply for relief letters (SKTM) or GAKIN IDs.”
“Many public health services (Puskesmas) have not yet accommodated the poor. They should not be undermined by the administration’s bureaucracy,” he said during a plenary session which discussed the draft bylaw on the city’s health system.
Councilors also suggested that the administration punish medical centers, including hospitals and public health centers, which have rejected poor patients even though those patients managed to show their low-income family cards (GAKIN).
Hospitals and public health centers said earlier that they refused to treat poor residents amid repeated late payments on claims by the Health Agency.
“The administration should punish health centers or officials who refuse to give medical treatment to the poor,” Hizbiyah Rochim, member of Commission E on social welfare, said.
Achmad said that poor residents deserved health services.
The Constitution stipulated that the state has an obligation to look after poor citizens.
“I think the administration must carry out a regular evaluation on its health service schemes [to keep improving them],” Achmad said.
In 2005, the administration distributed GAKIN cards to residents eligible for low-cost or free health care and food.
Low-income residents can also apply for SKTM, which would make them eligible for discounted or free medical care.
SKTM holders pay only 50 percent of medical fees, while Gakin holders pay nothing.
SKTM applicants must submit a notification letter from their neighborhood’s unit chief and from subdistrict officials, as well as a letter from their local community health care center explaining their financial status.
The administration is now discussing the possibility of replacing Gakin with Jamkesda.
The idea of using Jamkesda was brought up in 2007 after many Gakin patients were rejected by hospitals.
The Jamkesda scheme is expected to avoid such problems because payment claims would be administered by a private insurance company, which would be appointed by the city administration.
Jamkesda was planned to be introduced in 2008, but due to the late discussion of the 2008 revised city budget, the implementation will have to wait until 2009 when the administration can allocate the funding to pick an insurance company.
