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BPJS Kesehatan to return to previous premiums as of May 1
Supreme Court ruling reinstated Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 82/2018 on health insurance, which applied premiums of Rp 80,000 (US$5.35) per month per person for first-class service, Rp 51,000 for second-class service and Rp 25,500 for third-class service.
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A customer seeks assistance from an official of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) in Jakarta. (Courtesy of/www.panduanbpjs.com)
T
he Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) has announced that it will return the premiums for the national health insurance (JKN) program to their original rates on Friday, in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling reinstates Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 82/2018 on health insurance, which applies premiums of Rp 80,000 (US$5.35) per month per person for first-class service, Rp 51,000 for second-class service and Rp 25,500 for third-class service.
BPJS Kesehatan spokesman M. Iqbal Anas Maruf said the company would return excess payments paid by participants in April.
"Premium overpayments disbursed from January-March will not be returned or refunded. However, excess payments paid in April will be compensated in the following month’s premiums," Iqbal said in a statement on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.
In October last year, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed Perpres No. 75/2019 on health insurance that stipulated a 100 percent rise in JKN premiums. The move was designed to help the insurer overcome financial losses.
Read also: BPJS premium increase stirs controversy
Under the new regulation, the government initially doubled the premium for the first-class service to Rp 160,000 per month per person, while raising the cost for the second-class service to Rp 110,000 and for the third-class service to Rp 42,000 per month.
The regulation took effect in January this year. However, in March the Supreme Court granted a judicial review of the Perpres, effectively revoking the decision to increase the premiums.
The judicial review petition was filed late last year by the Hemodialysis Patients Community — one of the many groups and individuals who protested against the premium hike, which they claimed were too high.
Iqbal said that the BPJS had calculated the participants' excess payments and had adjusted its information technology system for their insurance bills.
The government is currently planning to issue another Perpres on health insurance that will better regulate the fairness and balance of the premium contribution for JKN participants.
"We don't want health services for JKN participants to be hampered, especially considering the current socio-economic conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Iqbal said. (nal)
