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Japan studies Indonesia's health insurance management during BPJS Kesehatan visit
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(Courtesy of BPJS Kesehatan)
T
he international community continues to show interest in Indonesia's National Health Insurance (JKN) system. On Sept. 4, BPJS Kesehatan welcomed a delegation from Japan, comprising representatives from the Japanese health insurance body Kyukai Kenpo and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). BPJS Kesehatan's Director of Compliance and Inter-Institutional Relations, Mundiharno, expressed enthusiasm about sharing the experiences of managing the JKN Program.
"Indonesia deserves to be proud as one of the fastest countries to achieve Universal Health Coverage [UHC]. We only took ten years, while other countries typically require several decades to ensure their populations are covered. Japan spent 36 years enrolling its citizens in social health insurance, and Germany, the oldest country to implement social health insurance, took 127 years," Mundiharno said following the event.
Mundiharno noted that, as an archipelagic nation with the fourth largest population in the world, it is not easy for Indonesia to provide health insurance coverage for all its citizens. However, in the ten years since BPJS Kesehatan began operations, more than 98 percent of Indonesia's population is now covered by the JKN Program. This rapid growth in JKN membership has attracted interest from many countries, including Japan.
"Recently, BPJS Kesehatan had the opportunity to give a public lecture at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan, about the JKN Program. We are very pleased to meet with Japanese representatives again today. There are many insights, opinions and suggestions, including plans for future collaboration and cooperation," Mundiharno added.
He also emphasized that the increase in JKN participants must be accompanied by improved access to healthcare services. Therefore, BPJS Kesehatan continues to expand its network of healthcare facilities across Indonesia. As of the first semester of 2024, BPJS Kesehatan has partnered with 23,287 Primary Healthcare Facilities (FKTP) and 3,124 Advanced Referral Healthcare Facilities (FKRTL). The presence of BPJS Kesehatan and the JKN Program has stimulated growth in the private healthcare sector, particularly in hospitals. Over 66 percent of BPJS Kesehatan’s FKRTL partners are private facilities.
"To ensure that JKN participants receive quality services, BPJS Kesehatan only collaborates with healthcare providers that pass credentialing and recredentialing processes. To reach remote areas, BPJS Kesehatan has also contracted floating hospitals to provide basic health services. In the future, regional service expansion will be a significant step in serving remote areas that previously faced challenges in accessing hospital care," Mundiharno stated.
During the visit, BPJS Kesehatan also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kyoukai Kenpo Japan. The agreement includes collaborative efforts in risk management, UHC optimization, strategic purchasing, strengthening promotional and preventive measures and health insurance system management, as well as efforts to collect contributions.
