Govt to slash number of Jamkesmas recipients
Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie (right). (ANTARA/Ujang Zaelani/*)
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government plans to slash the number of poor people entitled to receive health insurance under a public health insurance (Jamkesmas) scheme to 61 million next year from 76.4 million previously, a minister said.

"As the number of poor people falls, the health insurance will only be given to 61 million people entitled to it according to the criteria of poor people set by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS)," Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said after a coordination meeting here on Monday.

The people who will be deprived of the government-borne health insurance must later pay for their health insurance themselves, he said.

"Indonesia has a population of 230 million, 61 million of whom have their health insurance borne by the government and the rest must pay for their health insurance themselves," he said.

Under Law No. 40/2004 on national social insurance system, all citizens are required to pay for their health insurance themselves, said Adang Setiana, assitant for social protection and public housing to the coordinating minister for people`s welfare.

"Only poor citizens have their health insurance borne by the government under the Jamkesmas scheme," he said.

The people who are deprived of the government-borne health insurance can participate in the health insurance program managed by insurance companies, he said.

A report released by the Coordinating Ministry for People`s Welfare in 2008 showed that the government spent Rp 4.6 trillion ($405 million) on the Jamkesmas program last year, while Rp 7.2 trillion has been set aside for the program in 2009. (*)