Commission IX of the DPR asks the Government to immediately realize the clearing of BPJS dues

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, Yahya Zaini, asked the Government to immediately realize the elimination of the arrears of National Health Insurance (JKN) BPJS Health contributions for vulnerable groups of people for the sake of justice in public health services.

"The government must immediately realize the clearing or elimination of BPJS Health dues arrears for vulnerable categories of people. This is to ensure the return of access to health services for all Indonesian people," said Yahya Zaini, Saturday, June 13.

Zaini assessed that the plan to eliminate JKN arrears needed to be placed in a broader context than just the issue of membership administration. "What is currently being faced is not only the issue of dues receivables, but the fact that tens of millions of people who are formally recorded as JKN participants no longer have real access to health services due to their inactive membership status," he said.

He also considered the main problem that the State needed to solve was how to ensure that people in vulnerable economic conditions did not lose access to basic health services. Because in practice, said Zaini, many families face a dilemma when daily living needs must compete with the obligation to pay dues.

"Until finally cut off from the health protection system which should be a social safety net," he said.

Even so, the head of the DPR Health Commission assessed that resolving the problem of arrears in BPJS Health contributions also needed to pay attention to the principle of justice because it was the foundation of the sustainability of JKN. He emphasized that the National Health Insurance system was built on the participation of millions of participants who have so far disciplinedly fulfilled their contribution obligations.

"Therefore, every policy that is taken must be able to explain transparently who is the target, what is the basis of the policy, and how it affects the sustainability of JKN financing in the long term," said the Golkar Legislator from the East Java VIII District.

Yahya assessed that there was a need to evaluate the JKN financing scheme following BPJS Kesehatan, which currently had an operational deficit of Rp2 trillion every month. This condition occurs because the expenditure for health claims payment jumps to Rp16 to Rp16.5 trillion per month, while the total income from participant contributions only reaches around Rp14 trillion per month.

"In addition to intervention to settle the arrears of JKN contributions for poor people, the State must also have an accurate verification mechanism for BPJS Health participants," he explained.

As is known, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has confirmed that the plan to clear or eliminate arrears in BPJS Health participant contributions has been approved. Currently, the policy is waiting for a Presidential Regulation (Perpres).

The Ministry of Finance is said to have prepared a budget of Rp. 20 trillion in the 2026 State Budget to remove or whiten the arrears of BPJS Health contributions of people who are unable to pay.

Meanwhile, BPJS Kesehatan said that the total number of JKN participants who were in arrears was 23 million with a value of Rp. 14 trillion.