TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
For some patients, COVID-19 treatment strains both health and finances
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Medical workers inspect emergency room equipment at a temporary COVID-19 hospital in the Kemayoran Athletes Village in Central Jakarta on March 23, 2020. (Antara/Pool/Hafidz Mubarak A)
I
n Indonesia, where a third of the population lacks health insurance, some COVID-19 patients have had both their health and their finances strained by the virus.
While the government is reimbursing both state-run and private referral hospitals for the expenses of treating COVID-19 patients under a government plan, the lack of capacity at these facilities and patients’ fears of not getting prompt or sufficient care have left some with little choice but to pay tens of millions of rupiah for private treatment.
Naufal Dhany Rizaki, a 25-year-old resident of Surabaya, East Java, said his family had to pay Rp 97 million (US$6,918) for his mother's two-week hospital stay in January because she did not have insurance.
Naufal had searched for a bed at state COVID-19 hospitals, but to no avail. Fearing for the safety of his mother, who was diabetic, a noted COVID-19 comorbidity, he booked a bed at a private referral hospital. His mother's condition worsened for a period after she heard of the death of her sister from the virus, but she eventually survived the disease.
Naufal was informed by a doctor about the estimated medical expenses, but still found it “a large amount” of money.
"At the time, my family didn't have cash on hand. What we had were land investments. We were confused at first, but thank God we found a way to get the money,” he said.
The hospital informed him that it could submit a claim to the government to cover part of the expenses. “The reimbursement can take three months or more – or even not happen at all. But the hospital said it would still try,” Naufal said.
