Bylaw limits health budget to a maximum 15 percent

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/24/2009 11:37 AM  |  City

The city council approves the new regional health system bylaw that will limit a maximum of 15 percent budget allocation of the annual regional budget on Tuesday.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said the 15 percent budget allocation would be realized step by step according to the administration capacity.

"It will depend on the region's capacity. It cannot be forced. If the budget is available I think there will be no problem," he said after the plenary session.

Meanwhile, deputy governor Prijanto still questioned Article 30 on the annual health budget allocation, saying the article needed deeper explanation.

"We have to be alert with 15 percent health budget allocation at the maximum. I am still debating with myself because it means that we cannot surpass the figure."

The administration plans to spend Rp 1.7 trillion (US$164.9 million) or 7.6 percent of this year's budget that stands at Rp 22.420 trillion. The health budget was down from 7.8 percent in 2008.

Fauzi said the bylaw aimed to provide better health service, which gives priority to patients from low-income families.

He said the punishment for doctors or hospital that rejected patients from poor families should be better explained in other forms of regulation like a gubernatorial decree.

"I think it should be formulated with more details. But I agree there should be an effective punishment. A regulation without an effective punishment and a good control is not a good regulation."

According to Article 63 of Chapter 9, everyone or a legal institution that refuses to treat referral patients as mentioned in Article 21 and 23 will face six months in prison at the maximum or a fine of Rp 50 million at the maximum.

Besides, people who breach the articles can have their permits taken.

The Democrat faction members said in a statement, which was read out in the plenary session, that they hoped there would be no more patients from low-income families who were rejected by hospitals because there was a late claim payment by the city administration.

"We hope after the application of the bylaw on the regional health system, the messy health service in society can be dealt with," Lucky P. Sastrawiria said.

He reiterated the content of the bylaw on the punishment for hospitals that refused to serve low-income patients besides reminding the city administration to select the spending for medicine to avoid having the expired ones, which would only become a waste of budget.

Meanwhile, Golkar faction members said they want the bylaw to regulate that every private hospital should give at least 25 percent of their profit to be allocated to patients from poor families or their third class service.

The Prosperous Justice Party faction (PKS) members said they appreciated the 15 percent budget allocation regulation. They reminded that the health system in the city should be in integration with the infrastructure management.

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