T

he Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) is considering revising its regulation on enrollment in the national health insurance (JKN) program, especially the fresh stipulation that a JKN card can only be valid for use seven days after registration.

BPJS Kesehatan registration and marketing director Sri Endang Tidarwati said on Wednesday that the agency considered revising the regulation after critics slammed the stipulation for the potential harm it could do to patients in dire need of health services.

'€œWe are hearing, seeing and responding [to critics and suggestions]. We will take them into consideration,'€ she told reporters at the BPJS Kesehatan'€™s Prima branch in Blok M, South Jakarta.

BPJS Kesehatan director Fahmi Idris earlier said that the regulation had been implemented to prompt people into registering for the JKN program even before they were sick.

Fahmi said if the JKN cards were valid immediately after registration, then users would only apply after they became sick.

Endang said the seven-day grace period only applied to those who paid for their own premiums, not for those whose premiums were paid by the government.

One of the critics of the seven-day grace period policy is Health Minister Nila Moeloek, who said patients ought not to wait for seven days before receiving medical services under the JKN program.

'€œHaving said that, now we'€™re trying [to revise the regulation by sending a letter to BPJS Kesehatan],'€ she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

However, Nila also called on members of the public to immediately sign up for the plan even if they did not have medical conditions.

Health Ministry health development director general Akmal Taher, meanwhile, said that if BPJS Kesehatan insisted on not changing the regulation, the agency must ensure that everyone was covered by the plan immediately.

'€œIf the regulation remains the same, BPJS Kesehatan needs to inform the people to register for the JKN program even before they are sick,'€ he said.

The government is targeting to provide a universal healthcare system by 2019.

So far, 131.3 million people have been registered in the JKN program, up from 112 million in early 2014.

The 112 million people were those who had already enrolled in former social protection programs, such as Jamkesmas, Jamkesda, Askes, Jamsostek and Asabri.

In early 2014, the government launched the JKN to integrate all social protection programs.

To achieve its goal of providing universal health care, the government issued a law requiring employers (state-owned, large, medium and small enterprises) to enroll their employees by Jan. 1, 2015 at the latest, with a premium rate of 5 percent of employee salaries.

Only 11 out of 82 state-owned enterprises have enrolled their employees in the JKN program.

To ease the registration process, BPJS Kesehatan opened a branch in Blok M on Wednesday, specifically tasked with handling state or private firms with employees of more than 2,000 people.