Do not let the community face hindrances to getting health services due to fund-related barriers.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Lestari Moerdijat, has asked the central government to anticipate an increase in health costs in the country.

"Several anticipatory measures to face various challenges in the health sector must be made immediately, including against the trend of national health costs that are predicted to increase above the national inflation rate," she said in a written statement released on Friday.

Earlier, a survey conducted by Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) regarding health trends in 2023 showed that health costs in Indonesia are predicted to continue to rise to record up to a 13.6 percent increase.

Moerdijat underlined that the prediction is higher than the forecast for Asia, namely, of an 11.5 percent increase, and Indonesia's inflation rate in 2022, which stood at 5.5 percent.

To this end, she said that the projection must receive serious attention from the government.

"Do not let the community face hindrances to getting health services due to fund-related barriers," she added.

She also highlighted that the expansion of health funding services through the National Health Insurance (JKN) program needs to be carried out consistently by the government with a system that is more accessible to the community.

Then, she said, several health service efforts for prevention must be expanded to regions across the country.

The MPR deputy speaker also urged stakeholders, both at the central and regional levels, to give their full support for several steps that are aimed at expanding prevention efforts through the provision of complete medical equipment and competent health workers in every region.

She said that strong collaboration of all stakeholders in the health sector would play an important role in realizing strategies to improve national health services.

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Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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