The Bekasi administration proposed Rp 180 billion (US$13 million) for its free healthcare program in the 2018 city budget, which was double the Rp 90 billion it was allocated in 2017.

 The health card, distributed to each household head,  can be used by all family members.

 “The number of card holders is increasing,” the city’s health agency head, Kusnanto Saidi, said on Sunday as quoted by tempo.co.

The health cards were first distributed in January, prioritizing low-income families or those with incomes lower than Bekasi’s regional minimum wage of Rp 3.6 million.

According to Bekasi Population and Civil Registration Agency data, more than 300,000 families had been allocated health cards, with the number expected to increase.

The proposed budget, Kusnanto said, was based on the monitoring of those who sought treatment in 42 hospitals throughout the city. In the last three years, 2.7 million people received treatment at the monitored hospitals.

Bekasi Mayor Rahmat Effendi said all residents were entitled to free treatment as taxpayers.

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