97 Thousand Siak Riau Residents Have Not Enjoyed BPJS Health Services

RIAU - More than 97 thousand residents of Siak Regency, Riau Province, have not been registered as participants in the Health Social Security Administering Body (BPJS) Program.

That number covers 21 percent of the total population of the local area which is almost 490 thousand people.

"Participation in Siak is 78.67 percent of the total population. There are approximately 97 thousand of the 490,000 residents who have not participated," said the Head of the Dumai BPJS Health Branch which oversees Siak, Harie Wibhawa in Siak, Riau, quoted from Antara, Wednesday 8 June.

He said this during a stakeholder meeting with a number of regional apparatus organizations in the Sri Indrapura Room, the Siak Regent's Office.

The meeting was about participation for state civil servants and companies to educating the public to participate.

According to him, in Siak, his party has made efforts to help the community by participating in the Regent's Work and Work Office program in Kampung or Bukag Kampung Siak.

There he informed the public that this program was mandatory and protected from possible illness that could come at any time.

"Don't get sick before registering, it's okay but it can't be activated immediately, the waiting time is 14 days before you can make payments," he said.

Head of BPJS Siak Regency, Nilam Pricilia added, to increase membership his party has worked with the social and health services. It is related to the budget for non-wage recipients (PBPU).

"In our village, we both went down, most of the participants were from poor people and independent participants," he added.

Meanwhile, Assistant I to the Siak Regency Government, Fauzi Asni, regarding 21 percent not yet registered, could not come from underprivileged communities.

Maybe it's a group with private insurance, that's why he suggested combining the population identification number with BPJS.

"That is so that there is one data and if possible, directly with the taxpayer identification number (NPWP). It is also possible that the 21 percent due to COVID-19, many of which have decreased income, so independent participants do not pay anymore," he said.