TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Death of Padang woman highlights systemic issues in state insurance program
Surabaya City councilor Johari Mustawan in East Java said recently he had received hundreds of reports from residents who were denied treatment because their conditions did not meet JKN’s emergency criteria.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he recent death of a National Health Insurance (JKN) policyholder who was refused treatment at Dr. Rasidin Hospital in Padang, West Sumatra, has once again highlighted systemic issues within Indonesia’s national health insurance scheme.
Desi Erianti, 44, died of respiratory failure on Saturday afternoon, hours after being denied treatment at Dr. Rasidin Hospital, which is owned by the Padang administration.
Desi was brought to the hospital’s emergency unit early on Saturday morning with severe shortness of breath.
Medical staff diagnosed her with an acute respiratory infection but, upon learning she was covered under the subsidized JKN scheme, with her premium fully paid by the government, they said her condition did not meet JKN’s emergency criteria and was therefore not covered by the state insurance.
The hospital advised her to either pay out-of-pocket for treatment or seek a referral from a primary care facility. Unable to afford private care, Desi’s family took her home, but her condition worsened.
Around 9 a.m., they brought her to Siti Rahmah Hospital, a private healthcare facility, where she was admitted to the ICU in critical condition. Desi died at 12:31 p.m.
This is not the first time patients have been denied hospital treatment because their conditions did not meet JKN’s emergency criteria.
