JAKARTA - All sectors are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Not only in the transportation, tourism and business sectors, but also the pharmaceutical or health sectors were also affected.
Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Suryani Motik, said that based on the reports received by her party, due to Pageblu, the pharmaceutical sector had at least laid off 200 thousand workers.
"Some can pay their salaries, but they can only last until June or July. Most have started laying off their employees. The pharmaceutical sector has 200,000 layoffs," he said, in a video conference with journalists, Thursday, June 18.
Not only that, Suryani said, the pharmaceutical industry, both retail and drug suppliers, was also experiencing financial problems. This condition is exacerbated by the unpaid debt of BPJS Health that has reached IDR 3 trillion.
"BPJS (Health) has a debt to the Pharmacy Association of Rp. 3 trillion. The hospital industry is also problematic. So retail pharmacy and supplies to the hospital will pay for it later, because usually the hospital pays doctors, nurses and medicines first," he explained.
Suryani admitted that the problems in the health industry have actually occurred for a long time. Meanwhile, the business life of the hospital is also problematic because many Indonesians prefer to seek treatment abroad rather than undergo treatment at home.
"I know exactly because I was involved in a hospital, how the hospital went up and down. Initially after the BPJS was very good, after the BPJS was established, the hospital was very unhealthy. "I trust hospitals in Indonesia and this is an opportunity to improve. Officials just go to Singapore and Malaysia for treatment," he said.
According to Suryani, the market potential of Indonesians who go abroad is enormous. He considered, this should be an opportunity taken by the government.
"With extraordinary government encouragement we should have been able to. If after this Covid-19 we together with the world and the government want to make the hospital industry host itself with extraordinary government assistance, we should be able to," he said.
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