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View all search resultsGovernment pledges better JKN governance after millions lose subsidized coverage
Over the past few days, many recipients of contribution assistance (PBI), whose premiums are fully covered by the state, were denied medical treatment at hospitals after their subsidized status was revoked without prior notice.
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An employee serves a customer at the Jakarta branch of the Social Security Administrative Body for Health (BPJS Kesehatan). (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he government has pledged to improve governance of the national health insurance (JKN) program after at least 11 million people had their subsidized benefits revoked since early February following a welfare data update, a situation widely blamed on unreliable poverty statistics and weak interministerial coordination.
Over the past few days, many recipients of contribution assistance (PBI), whose premiums are fully covered by the state, were denied medical treatment at hospitals after their subsidized status was revoked without prior notice.
The sudden loss of coverage quickly triggered confusion and frustration among affected recipients, with many taking to social media to describe how the revocation left them unable to access even emergency care.
Responding to the public outcry, the government and the House of Representatives agreed to extend subsidies for the recently removed recipients by three months to allow further verification and on-the-ground eligibility checks.
“We have agreed to continue improving and strengthening integrated health insurance governance,” House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Monday during a meeting with the Social Affairs, Finance and Health ministries.
Read also: Patients lose access to lifesaving care due to JKN subsidy cuts
The revocation followed a late-January update by the Social Affairs Ministry to the Single National Social and Economic Data (DTSEN), a unified social assistance database. More than 11 million people were removed from the system, which was later integrated into JKN by the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).
