Striking poses: Workers demand action on the Social Security Providers (BPJS) Law, outside the House of Representatives (DPR) in October 2011.(JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

The government needs to ensure it has the financial capacity to run the national health care program scheduled to take effect on January 2014, otherwise it will only create economic problems, experts have said.

Hotbonar Sinaga of the University of Indonesia (UI) and Bambang Purwoko of the Pancasila University said the government needed to calculate its financial ability to support the program.

According to them, the national social security system was not a charity program which everyone could enjoy for free.

The two were commenting on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who said in a coordination meeting at t...