Speaking at the 1st National Forum of the Indonesian Health Council here on Tuesday, Sadikin noted Indonesia’s UHC coverage currently reaches 57 percent according to WHO standards, which measure access to quality healthcare at affordable costs.
“Having a health card is meaningless if, when you arrive at a hospital, services are unavailable, equipment is missing, or doctors are absent. That means UHC is still low,” he said.
Referring to the deaths of Irene Sokoy and her unborn child, allegedly due to multiple hospitals refusing treatment, the minister stressed that every citizen has the right to health services.
At the same time, he acknowledged that the quality of healthcare in Indonesia still needs improvement to provide services that meet legal and regulatory standards.
He urged the Indonesian Health Council to support enhancements in healthcare quality, particularly to ensure easier access, better service, and affordable costs.
“The Ministry of Health must work closely with the Health Council and BPJS Kesehatan (state health insurer) to provide these three aspects as a state obligation,” Sadikin said.
He also highlighted collaboration efforts to improve the skills of 2.1 million medical and healthcare personnel to better serve the population.
“If complaints persist, patients being transferred between hospitals and left untreated, sometimes resulting in death, we must introspect. These are issues that need to be addressed immediately,” the minister added.
Earlier, Minister Sadikin proposed that the National Health Insurance (JKN) program through BPJS Kesehatan should be focused on serving low-to-middle-income communities, while those who are well-off can utilize private health insurance.
“BPJS does not need to cover the wealthy. Why? Because the rich, the first-class patients, can be handled by the private sector,” Sadikin said during a working meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday (November 13).
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Translator: Prisca, Kenzu
Editor: Arie Novarina
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