With the distribution of more free health cards to targeted beneficiaries on Tuesday, Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo insisted that the controversy over the health care program, known as KJS, would be over soon.

'I hope that the distribution of KJS cards and the number of KJS patients will be more manageable. The cards use chips so people can't fake identities to get free healthcare,' Jokowi told reporters at the Koja community health center (puskesmas) in North Jakarta.

Jokowi believed that the spike in the number of patients using the service was part of the initial euphoria for free healthcare, which would soon ease off. 'I believe that once the euphoria is over, the numbers will be normal and I am upbeat that the capital's medical facilities are more than capable of serving the KJS patients,' he said.

Jokowi, who was accompanied by Jakarta Health Agency Dien Emmawati and assistant to city secretary for people's welfare affairs Oloan Siregar, also visited and distributed the cards at Pasar Rebo and Kalideres community health centers.

More than 1.7 million new cards were distributed on the day, which marked the second phase of the health card distribution. The KJS program provides free third-class treatment to 4.7 million Jakartans.

Since its launch in November, only 3,000 KJS cards had been distributed, while other Jakartans deemed eligible to access the free healthcare were temporarily allowed to use Jakarta-based identity cards or family cards. The number of patients has surged by 70 percent since.

Jokowi said that up to 3.3 million people had enjoyed free healthcare since November. The governor also called on KJS cardholders to use the service wisely.

'You don't always have to go to the hospital every time you get sick. We have proper facilities and great medical staff at puskesmas. You should go to the puskesmas first when you feel sick to see whether the doctor needs to refer you to hospital or not,' Jokowi said. Siregar added that the card holders were all adults, while children would automatically be entitled to free healthcare using their parents' cards.

Despite the controversy surrounding the KJS program, Jokowi reiterated his commitment to continuing his pro-poor policy.

'The surging number of patients during the first months of the program indicates that there were many sick people in the capital but they did not see the doctor because they were afraid they wouldn't be able to afford medical treatment. This means that the program is very much needed,' he said.

The KJS scheme has faced a number of problems since early this year. In April, a new-born baby died after being denied admission by a number of hospitals due to a lack of available neonatal intensive care units. The incident led to claims that the health card launch was not supported by adequate medical facilities at the hospitals incorporated in the program.

Recently, two private hospitals ' Thamrin and Admira ' withdrew from the program due to an unwillingness to bear the losses incurred from covering KJS patients' medical expenses. This triggered a political move by the Jakarta Legislative Council to summon Jokowi to explain the implementation of the healthcare program.

Fahmi Idris, the president director of state insurer PT Askes ' which has been appointed to manage KJS funds, said that the company was currently focused on improving the KJS database. 'As of today, we have input data on 2.37 million beneficiaries, so we have precise information about KJS holders,' he said, adding that the company and the Health Agency were also evaluating the medical rates applied in the scheme.

Emmawati said that the evaluation was expected to be completed by the middle of June.

According to Fahmi, the company has received Rp 1.1 billion (US$112,200) in medical claims from the hospitals since April. The city administration has earmarked Rp 1.2 trillion to finance the program this year.

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