October 14, 2025 | 11:37 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ombudsman has urged the government to immediately eliminate BPJS Kesehatan (Healthcare) arrears. This arrears payment can restore the dignity of social security as a public service that ensures a humane, inclusive, and equitable protection system.
Ombudsman member Robert Na Endi Jaweng supports the government's plan to eliminate BPJS Kesehatan arrears. He stated that amidst the current economic dynamics, citizens' constitutional rights can be fulfilled, not just financial obligations.
"Presidential Regulation Number 82 of 2018, Article 42, does regulate the settlement of arrears, but more detailed technical regulations are still needed to ensure a clear mechanism and ensure proper procedures," Robert stated in a statement quoted on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Robert stated that before implementing this policy, several things need to be prepared and improved. First, the government needs to formulate a fair and transparent procedure for eliminating arrears. "The government must ensure that participants whose contributions are being waived are truly eligible. This is crucial to ensure social justice for participants who have been paying their contributions regularly," he said.
Furthermore, Robert also encouraged BPJS Kesehatan to be more accountable and proactive in providing information on their participant status. In this context, the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) is a crucial instrument to ensure that the arrears cancellation policy can be implemented in a measured and targeted manner, especially for non-PBI participants who are financially struggling to pay their arrears.
BPJS Kesehatan is also expected to be proactive in reactivating participants. Currently, there are approximately 56.8 million inactive BPJS Kesehatan participants. This situation occurs because BPJS Kesehatan tends to be passive and less persuasive in encouraging participant activation.
"For example, the deactivation of 7.3 million PBI JKN participants some time ago because their names were not recorded in the DTKS. This deactivation was only discovered when people attempted to access health services, accompanied by previously unknown contribution arrears," he said.
Furthermore, the Ombudsman also requested that the central and regional governments ensure the availability and quality of healthcare facilities. The Ombudsman also requested that, in addition to providing a financial cushion for healthcare insurance, the government also ensure that healthcare facilities comply with regulations and prioritize service quality. "After that, administrative resolution will follow," he said.
The Ombudsman believes that the waiver of BPJS Kesehatan (Social Security Agency) arrears represents a form of state involvement in optimizing social protection for the public. This policy must be well-targeted to truly ease the burden on the public in accessing fair and equitable healthcare services.
Robert urged the public to report suspected maladministration in social healthcare services through the various official channels of the Indonesian Ombudsman, both at the central office and at its 34 representative offices throughout Indonesia.
Previously, Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment (Menko PM), Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, stated that the government is pursuing concrete steps to relieve the public of the burden of BPJS Kesehatan arrears, which reach tens of trillions of rupiah. "I am continuing to strive to ensure that all BPJS participants' outstanding debts are immediately waived. So they are no longer considered debt. Hopefully, this will be successful next month. Once the government has paid off the outstanding debts, all participants can start paying new contributions," said Coordinating Minister for PM Muhaimin Iskandar in a statement in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Thursday, October 2, 2025.
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