"Access to health services for pregnant women is very important to ensure that the baby's condition and the mother's own health are in good condition," Director of Health Service Assurance at BPJS Health Lily Kresnowati said in an official statement issued in Jakarta on Friday.
She expressed the hope that stunting monitoring would help detect the potential of stunting in babies while they are inside the womb.
Kresnowati said that the stunting monitoring service can be accessed through the National Health Insurance Program (JKN). The service is being provided because 21.6 percent of toddlers in Indonesia are still suffering from stunting.
In this regard, BPJS Health has a role in providing guarantees for access to health services as an effort to deal with stunting, starting from access to health for mothers during pregnancy, during childbirth, and after delivery, she added.
Several health services for infants and toddlers can be carried out both at first-level health facilities (FKTP) and advanced-level referral health facilities (FKRTL) or hospitals, she informed.
Kresnowati said that for pregnancy services, BPJS Health can cover pregnancy examination or antenatal care (ANC), both at FKTPs and at hospitals, according to medical indications and in accordance with the applicable referral system, including an ultrasound examination.
Then, for deliveries, services can be carried out at FKTPs or at hospitals based on medical indications. BPJS Health will cover deliveries at FKTPs carried out by midwives and deliveries at community health centers (puskesmas) or primary clinics for normal deliveries and deliveries with complications, she added.
"BPJS Health also covers postnatal services or Post Natal Care (PNC), which can be performed at the FKTP or at the hospital. PNC services will be carried out four times, which include three examinations for the mother and baby and one examination for the mother," she disclosed.
According to Kresnowati, insurance coverage for maternal health costs is important for stunting prevention, especially for newborns. As per the Health Minister’s Regulation Number 3 of 2023, there has also been an increase in tariffs for maternal and neonatal health services, including screening.
As part of delivery services, the government is also providing coverage for congenital hypothyroid screening (SHK) sampling test, as part of an effort to detect developmental disorders and even, cognitive disorders. The coverage for the screening synergizes with programs and funding from the government and regional governments, according to their authority, she noted.
Her party will also bear the cost of health services for infants and toddlers, in accordance with their medical needs, including a physical examination of toddlers for stunting and wasting, as well as ensuring routine immunization services, with the availability and distribution of vaccines secured by the government.
"With these concrete steps, I hope health facilities can be more optimal in providing services to JKN participants to be easier, faster, and equal," she disclosed.
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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma S, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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