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Medical professionals associations slam healthcare omnibus bill drafting
Five medical professional associations deplore the House of Representatives Legislative Body's decision to make the omnibus bill on healthcare a priority for deliberation without consulting them.
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Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session in Senayan, Jakarta on March 8, 2021. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
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ive medical professional associations deplore the House of Representatives Legislative Body's (Baleg) decision to make the omnibus bill on healthcare a priority for deliberation without consulting them.
Associations, namely, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), the Indonesian Dentists Association (PDGI), the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI), the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI) and the Indonesian Pharmacists Association (IAI) have criticized lawmakers for not including healthcare professionals in the bill's the drafting process before putting the draft in the 2023 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list.
The IDI chairman Adib Khumaidi was adamant that lawmakers and the government should always include various stakeholders and the public to create regulations or policies related to the healthcare system as mandated by the World Health Organizations (WHO).
"We have not received the draft of the omnibus bill nor have we been consulted about it by lawmakers, but suddenly the House Legislative Body (Baleg) put the bill in next year's Prolegnas priority list," Adib said in a press conference on Monday.
"Due to the nature of the omnibus bill, we're very concerned that the proposed law will negate the existing regulations on medical professions that have been effectively implemented so far," he stressed.
An omnibus bill is a single piece of legislation that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. It is typically made to revise numerous articles in several laws at once and meant to simplify affected laws.
The IBI chairman Emi Nurjasmi highlighted the fact that the government had only passed the country's first midwifery-specific law two years ago, after 15 years of sluggish process.
