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JKN policyholders hope for fair, affordable premiums under single-class care
Policyholders of the National Health Insurance (JKN) hope that any changes to the premiums made by the government will make the insurance fair and affordable for all.
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A Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) official helps a patient at the agency's South Jakarta office in Jakarta on May 14, 2024. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
W
hen the government issued a new regulation on standardized inpatient care for patients under the National Health Insurance (JKN), some policyholders had a similar wish: that any change in the premiums must be made fair and balanced for the insured from all classes.
Through a presidential decree signed on May 8, the government mandates the establishment of a standardized class of hospital care under the JKN scheme, replacing the three existing classes by June 30 of next year.
Under the current system, the hospital care class a patient assigned to is based on the premium they pay. First- and second-class policyholders pay a monthly premium of Rp 150,000 (US$9.43) and Rp 100,000, respectively. Meanwhile, their third-class counterparts have to pay Rp 35,000 every month after receiving a Rp 7,000 subsidy from the government.
Paoziah, 58, had mixed feelings upon hearing the news, hoping that the new policy would be followed by fair and balanced changes to the price of premiums for policyholders.
She just signed up as a Class I JKN policyholder in February to ensure that she would have access to appropriate health care in her old age. But Paoziah has not used the state insurance for any medical treatment as of today; she views her monthly premiums as part of her alms for others who need to receive treatment.
“If the three-class system is eliminated, the premiums must also be fair. It shouldn’t burden [JKN] participants who are currently in the third class,” said Paoziah, who lived in East Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
People previously expressed their concerns that the system change could lead to a premium hike, especially for Class III policyholders, most of whom are informal workers.
