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View all search resultsGovt to raise JKN premiums to lighten financial load
Details on the new premiums are still being deliberated among the Finance Ministry, Health Ministry and the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), before being submitted to the House of Representatives for further discussions.
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A Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) official provides information about the National Health Insurance (JKN) to passers-by during a car-free day event in Ternate, North Maluku, on Aug. 10, 2025. (Antara/Andri Saputra)
T
he government is preparing to increase the premium for the National Health Insurance (JKN), the first hike in more than six years, following warnings of a ballooning deficit and rising treatment costs that have placed the country’s universal healthcare system under financial strain.
The plan was first disclosed in the government’s Financial Notes budget planning document presented earlier this month, which stipulated a “phased adjustment of premiums” was necessary to keep the JKN sustainable amid rising claim ratios.
The Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), which manages the JKN, posted a record Rp 9.6 trillion (US$588 million) deficit in 2024. It collected Rp 165.73 trillion from beneficiaries’ premiums and state funding, but paid out Rp 174.9 trillion in claims.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati emphasized the JKN’s sustainability depended on keeping revenues in line with the program’s coverage and the claims paid out for each policyholder.
Alongside the premium adjustment, she added that the government would increase state financing next year to enroll more low-income Indonesians as recipients of contribution assistance (PBI) whose premiums for the state insurance are fully subsidized.
The 2026 state budget allocated Rp 66.5 trillion for 96.8 million PBI recipients, up from Rp 46 trillion for about 92 million beneficiaries this year.
“While the government will need to shoulder a greater share of the budget, [non-PBI] policyholders will also have to contribute more,” Sri Mulyani said during a meeting with House of Representatives lawmakers on Aug. 21.
