REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said government would pay insurance managed by Social Security Agency (BPJS) for 86 million poor people in Indonesia. Government will pay the premium temporarily for people living in poverty.
"Those who are not catagorized as poor must pay the premium, like any other workers. The BPJS insurance will cover cardholder's hospital treatment and medicine," Laksono said on Thursday.
Once the cardholder has better life or gets better job and earns more money, then he must pay the premium. Registration on customers of BPJS insurance will be conducted gradually for effectiveness.
The registration will start on January 1, 2014. Since health insurance (Askes) and social security (Jamsostek) will merge into BPJS insurance, so customers' premium of either Askes or Jamsostek will be transferred to BPJS insurance.
The premium of BPJS insurance is five percent of the customer's salary, in which he pays only one percent and his company pays four percent. Government also plans to boost primary health cares (PKP) in villages so villagers do not need to go to hospital for minor health problems.