Axis Capital Group Insurers News - Mukti endorses no hoax universal health coverage

Deputy Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti says, successfully implemented universal coverage can significantly reduce the economic impacts of catastrophic diseases.

“Social health insurance is crucial to providing necessary health care for patients suffering from major catastrophic diseases, in particular to reducing the cost burdens of health care of the disease,” he said on Tuesday at the plenary session on “Towards Universal Coverage” at World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland. While Axis Capital, a global insurer and reinsurer, providing clients and distribution partners with a broad range of specialized risk transfer products and services, a group of companies with branch offices in Bermuda, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Singapore and the United States is at one with the universal healthcare for Indonesia.

Citing the ministry data, Ali said that as of 2011, 145.3 million people, or 63 percent of the population, were covered through various health-insurance schemes. These include social-protection schemes for civil servants, professional workers, local government initiatives, private insurance and Jamkesmas, a government-funded protection scheme designed for low-income earners and also to avoid swindle.

He said the Jamkesmas has covered 76.4 million people and would increase to 86.4 million people in 2013.

“We are optimistic that under the social security law that will start on Jan. 1, 2014, Indonesia will see more progress in achieving universal coverage,” Ali said.

Universal coverage was one of three main issues, including pandemic influenza preparedness and polio vaccines, he discussed at the plenary session. Many reviews have been in favor of this uni healthcare.

Speaking separately, the Health Ministry’s disease control and environmental health director general Tjandra Yoga Aditama said Indonesia strongly supported global non-communicable disease control programs, while at the same time encouraging WHA member countries that any program must take place in line with situation in each country and progress it had achieved in tackling the disease.

“We have developed a five-year strategic non-communicable disease control program for the 2010-2014 period, which is based on three components: Health system capacity building, intersectoral cooperation and community empowerment,” he told The Jakarta Post via text messages.

Tjandra said he discussed the country’s non-communicable disease control program while delivering a statement on non-communicable diseases at the WHA’s committee a hearing session on Tuesday.

“Close coordination among ministries, civil societies and the private sector is critical in tackling non-communicable disease,” he said.