Hopes and fears as Indonesia rolls out universal healthcare

The government aims to have every Indonesian covered by health insurance by 2019 under a new scheme called Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), with nearly 20 trillion rupiah (US$1.6 billion) allocated to cover premiums for the poor in 2014.

Around 65 percent of the country’s 240 million people, including 86 million categorized as poor, are covered by some form of regional or national health programme and are automatically entitled to comprehensive coverage under the JKN, which has replaced the previous health schemes.

“This is a great programme. It should mean that people will no longer be denied treatment because they don’t have money,” said Wawan Mulyawan, a neurosurgeon and medical insurance consultant who works at a private hospital in Jakarta, the capital.

Read more here: http://www.irinnews.org/report/99463/hopes-and-fears-as-indonesia-rolls-...