Timboel Siregar: BPJS Controversy Starts from Incorrect Data Collection

Eddy Wijaya and Timboel Siregar. (doc. EdShareOn)

JAKARTA - BPJS Watch Advocacy Coordinator Timboel Siregar said that the controversy over the inactive status of BPJS participants receiving Health Insurance Contributions (PBI JK) was caused by the government's inaccurate data collection process.

As a result, many participants in the JK PBI who are poor and have serious illnesses have not been able to get free treatment at the hospital. "This is the 13th year of implementation of the National Health Insurance. There should be no more error data, let alone the number of millions of participants," said Timboel when talking to Eddy Wijaya in the EdShareOn podcast which aired on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.

BPJS PBI data suffering from severe diseases was different between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Ministry of Health said that there were 120,472 PBI sufferers of catastrophic diseases who were disabled, while the Ministry of Social Affairs data recorded "only" 106,153 participants. Social Minister Saifullah Yusuf said that the Ministry of Social Affairs data was smaller because it had reduced the number of participants who had died.

According to Timboel, the authority to update data is indeed in the Ministry of Social Affairs, referring to Government Regulation No. 101 of 2012 in conjunction with PP 76 of 2015. However, in the process, Timboel assessed that the data collection was still biased.

BPJS Watch noted that, to date, there are still around 15 million people who are economically capable, but have PBI status. On the other hand, there are 54 million poor people who are not PBI status. "This wrong data collection causes losses to the state. Then what are the sanctions for officers who harm the state?" Mestinya, Timboel continued, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Finance agreed on integrated data.

"But maybe because there is no coordination, the data of the two institutions are different," he said. Timboel assessed that data accuracy is vital in determining the criteria for PBI. In this case, the Ministry of Social Affairs should directly list households to determine whether someone is eligible for PBI or not.

On the other hand, the government must also have detailed requirements for determining the desil group - a system of groups of people receiving social assistance.

"So this is actually an old case, the Ministry of Social Affairs did not conduct a professional data collection based on objectivity. There is no explanation why there are PBI participants who leave desil 5 to 7 for example, and there is no time for the community to take care of their membership status," said Timboel.

As is known, on January 19, the Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf issued the Ministry of Social Regulation No. 3/HUK/2026 regarding the update of the single social economic data. As a result, 11 million PBI people were temporarily inactive and could not receive free treatment at the hospital.

The government meeting with the House of Representatives also finally decided to postpone the deactivation of PBI for the next three months starting from February 1. In this way, the government will continue to finance the cost of treatment for PBI JK until the data update process is completed.

Timboel said that PBI participants whose status is being deactivated should be able to activate their membership at health facilities if they really need treatment. Thus, the case of people failing to seek treatment as reported by a number of social media, will not happen.

Meanwhile, a total of 106,153 people who have chronic diseases must be automatically reactivated until the data collection is completed in the next three months. "If there are indeed budgetary constraints, at least those with chronic diseases must still be activated for their PBI status."

For the legal umbrella, Timboel said there was a need for a joint decision letter (SKB) from three ministers, namely the Minister of Social Affairs, the Minister of Health, and the Minister of Finance. The vital SKB was signed to ensure that PBI patients whose status was deactivated could still be served by the hospital. "The normative is indeed in need of an SKB because hospitals need legal certainty about who pays the bill for the patient's treatment. On the other hand, there is also justice for the poor who need access to health," said Timboel.

Must Be There Socialization Before Deactivating BPJS PBI StatusEddy Wijaya and Timboel Siregar. (doc. EdShareOn)

The update of BPJS participant data for Health Insurance Contribution Assistance (PBI JK) is planned to take place three months starting from February 2026. The results of the verification will determine whether a person remains a PBI status or becomes an independent participant.

During this transition period, the government ensures that people who are currently inactive can still access health services. As for the faskes, they still have certainty of payment.

According to BPJS Watch Advocacy Coordinator Timboel Siregar, in addition to conducting objective data collection, the government should also carry out socialization to the public about the status of PBI membership and desil criteria.

This is to avoid confusion for people who lose their PBI status because they are declared out of desil 5. According to the National Social and Economic Single Data (DTSEN), those who are entitled to receive social assistance are residents in clusters or desil 1-5.

Timboel explained that previously there was also no pause process from the government, between the process of notification of the status of desil and PBI membership, to the deactivation of the status. "There is no socialization. It's still lacking. People know that if they have the Indonesian Healthy Card, they will be served when they come to the health center. If suddenly the status is inactive and can't be treated, well that's what creates confusion," he told Eddy Wijaya in the EdShareOn podcast which aired on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.

Ideally, said Timboel, PBI participants are informed in advance if their status will be deactivated. At the same time, the participant is also given the opportunity to choose the category of his or her bathing membership, between classes 1 to 3.

"So if he switches to a self-sufficient participant, this health guarantee does not stop. When he goes to the blood wash, for example, it is still served by the hospital," he said. "This data update does have a follow-up problem because it is not accompanied by socialization of deactivation of status."

Who is Eddy Wijaya, this is his profile

Eddy Wijaya is a podcaster born on August 17, 1972. Through the YouTube account @EdShareOn, Eddy interviewed many national figures ranging from state officials, legal experts, political experts, national politicians, to local celebrities.

The man with a right cheek dimple is also a nationalist who is an activist for the marginalized and social observers by helping the community through the Wijaya Peduli Bangsa Foundation.

He is also active in the field of sports by serving as the Chairman of the Indonesian Equestrian Sports Association (Pordasi) Pacu and also served as Deputy General Chairman of the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) East Jakarta. Eddy also served as an Advisor to the Indonesian Chinese Social Association, 2022-2026.

His ideas were formed because of his hard work to be independent from the age of 13 to be successful as he is now. For Eddy, the world of work is not as smooth as imagined, failure and rejection are common. This is what makes him hold on to the tagline "Success is just a matter of time". (ADV)