70% poor insurance cardholders denied quality health treatment

The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) says 70 percent of patients entitled
to various government health insurance schemes for the poor have complained
about the hospital services they have received.

Citing results of a recent survey by the anti-graft watchdog, ICW’s Febri
Hendri said Friday that 70 percent of 986 poor patient respondents still
found many things to complain about even though health insurance schemes,
including Jamkesmas, Jamkesda, Gakin and SKTM, had been in place for some
time.

“The complaints are about administrative services, nurses, doctors,
facilities, down payment, costs and other hospital services, among other
things,” Febri said in a press release as quoted by Antara.

The ICW’s Citizen Report Cards 2010 surveyed respondents about treatment
received at 19 public and private hospitals in Greater Jakarta.

The survey also found that many poor patients were reluctant to use their
state-supported health insurance cards for fear of being rejected by
hospitals.

Many of the hospitals still reject poor patients, using excuses such a
lack of available beds, insufficient medical equipment and a shortage of
doctors or medicines to treat the patients, the ICW said.