The Jakarta administration should replace its health insurance for the poor (Gakin) with the government-run Jamkesmas, which is more suited for hospitals' cash-flow management, an association says.
Sutopo, from the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Hospitals Union, said Tuesday that with the Gakin, hospitals in the capital often received late payments for claims from the administration, which caused disruptions in services.
"With the Jamkesmas, the insurance fund is disbursed to hospitals prior to the claims, so they don't constantly run a deficit every year," he said at a meeting on the national social protection system.
Sutopo added because the claims were always paid several months overdue, made it difficult for the hospitals to treat patients.
The city administration finances and runs the Gakin scheme on its own, despite the existence of the nationwide Jamkesmas scheme run by the central government since 2007.
The administration cites Jakarta's higher health costs as its main reason for adopting a separate scheme.
Under the Jamkesmas, the government allocates Rp 5,000 (45 US cents) per person per month. In 2009, healthcare in Jakarta was estimated at Rp 20,000 per patient per month at hospitals and Rp 8,500 at public health centers.
The city had more than 1.4 million patients under the scheme in 2008, with claims totaling Rp 82.2 billion.
The city has allocated Rp 500 billion for various healthcare programs in 2010, including the Gakin scheme.
Achmad Haryadi, deputy to the governor for welfare, said although the administration could adequately fund the health scheme, it was impossible to disburse funds to hospitals prior to claims.
With the Jamkesmas, he went on, it was possible because the fund, managed by the Health Ministry, was considered social assistance and thus went into each region's coffers if not fully disbursed within a year.
"Our case is different," he said.
"The Gakin fund is considered part of our development budget, and has to be accounted for every year."
JP/Adisti Sukma Sawitri
