Local govts not funding health insurance: Official

A majority of North Sumatra regents and mayors have not implemented the province’s public health insurance program, a top provincial health official says.

North Sumatra Health Office health insurance chief Alexander Gultom said there were more people who needed the Jamkesda public health insurance scheme, not just the 4,124,247 poor people living in the province.

“Many poor people are not accounted for by Jamkesda this year,” Gultom said on Monday.

He said nine of the province’s 33 regencies and mayoralties had implemented the program this year, including Medan, Tanjung Balai, Dairi, Padang Sidempuan, Labuhan Batu, Asahan, Serdang Bedagai, Binjai and Deli Serdang.

According to Gultom, fewer regencies and mayoralties implemented the Jamkesda program in 2011 than in 2010.

“Last year, 11 regencies and mayoralties implemented the program, compared to only nine this year,” Gultom said, adding that Pematang Siantar and Toba Samosir had dropped the program.

Gultom said the office had met with regency and mayoralty administrations to discuss implementing the scheme, proposing to finance 25 percent of the program from the provincial budget and 75 percent from local budgets met.

“The meetings failed to reach consensus, so the Jamkesda program depends on the policy of the respective regents and mayors. Some have continued it and some have not. Ironically, most of the regional heads who failed to implement the program were those who had earlier promised in their campaigns to pay attention to poverty issues,” he said.

Gultom said he had repeatedly urged the regional leaders who agreed to implement the program to immediately carry it out.

“We have sent letters to the decision makers in the regencies and mayoralties to immediately implement Jamkesda. However, the calls have gone unnoticed,” Gultom said, attributing the poor response to regional autonomy.

North Sumatra legislators have expressed concern on the small number of local administrations that have prioritized healthcare allocations for underprivileged residents.

“Every regency and mayoralty should have set aside funds from their budgets for Jamkesda annually, as it is part and parcel of community living, because poor people also need healthcare,” North Sumatra legislative council Commission E member Hosen Hutagalung said.