Waiting For Whether Sri Mulyani Is Right To Cut 50 Percent Incentives For Health Workers

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Finance will hold a live conference to explain incentives for health workers. According to the plan, the event will be held today Thursday 4 February at 16.00 WIB and will be broadcast on all platforms of the Ministry led by Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

In a letter circulating widely on social media, it was stated that Sri Mulyani had cut incentives for health workers handling COVID-19 by 50 percent even though the policy of paying monthly incentives and compensation for death was continued until December 2021.

"It can be extended again if there are new policies related to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic," Sri Mulyani wrote in a letter addressed to the Minister of Health, quoted from Antara, Thursday, February 4.

The amount of incentives for health workers to handle the latest COVID-19 is in accordance with the Minister of Finance's letter Number S-65 / MK.02 / 2021 which was signed electronically on February 1, 2021, namely specialist doctors to IDR 7.5 million per person per month (OB). Then, participants of the Specialist Doctor Education Program (PPDS) amounted to Rp.6,250,000 per OB, general practitioners and dentists Rp.5 million per OB, midwives and nurses Rp.3,750,000 per OB, other health workers Rp.2.5 million per OB.

Previously, in the Decree of the Minister of Health Number HK.01.07 / MENKES / 278/2020 signed by former Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto on April 27, 2020, the incentive per OB for specialist doctors was IDR 15 million, general practitioners and dentists IDR 10 million. Then, midwives and nurses Rp. 7.5 million and other medical personnel Rp. 5 million per person per month.

Meanwhile, the compensation for death remains the same, namely Rp. 300 million per person. The Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance Askolani said that regarding this matter, the Ministry of Finance is still coordinating with the Ministry of Health.

"The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health are still continuing to calculate the details of the detailed spending plan with this dynamic development so that support for handling COVID-19 can be fulfilled in 2021," he said.

On the other hand, the cut is different from the 2021 National Economic Recovery (PEN) budget, which actually increased to Rp. 619 trillion from the previous Rp. 533.1 trillion.

The allocation for the health budget in PEN 2021 is planned to reach Rp. 104.7 trillion.