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Govt to stop paying for COVID-19 treatments, vaccines on Sept. 1
In a sign that the government is ready to move beyond the pandemic toward developing the health sector, people must start footing their own bills for COVID-19 treatment and vaccination on Sept. 1, whether independently or through insurance.
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A health worker shows a vial of Indovac, a COVID-19 vaccine made by PT Bio Farma in collaboration with the United States’ Baylor College of Medicine, during a first-dose vaccination campaign on Oct. 13, 2022 in Bandung, West Java. (AFP/Timur Matahari)
T
he government is to require people to pay for their own COVID-19 treatments and vaccinations starting on Sept. 1, as mandated by a recently issued regulation amid the novel coronavirus’ “transition” to an endemic in the country.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo lifted the national COVID-19 public health emergency in June, saying the disease had entered a stage of endemicity following months of low daily caseloads and fatalities. Earlier this month, he disbanded the country’s COVID-19 task force and handed responsibility for managing the disease to the Health Ministry.
Earlier this week, the ministry issued a new regulation on COVID-19 handling that includes a provision mandating self-payment for all related treatments and vaccinations.
“Starting on Sept. 1, the Health Ministry will no longer accept reimbursement claims [for COVID-19 treatments],” the ministry’s legal bureau head Indah Febrianti said during a recent press briefing.
She added that these claims would be paid either independently by the patient or through the National Health Insurance (JKN) and other health insurance schemes.
Starting next year, people who do not belong to those groups deemed at high risk of developing severe illness must also pay for their own vaccination in addition to their COVID-19 treatments.
These risk groups include the elderly (above 60 years old), people with comorbidities, health workers and pregnant women. These groups are still eligible to receive up to their second booster dose or fourth vaccine dose for free.
