Covid 19 has exposed gaps in the budgetary allocations of the subnational governments in Indonesia\u00a0that resulted in increase of out-pocket health expenditure\u00a0and\u00a0catastrophic\u00a0household spending on\u00a0health expenditure\u00a0for health care services.<\/p>\n
A recent\u00a0study by Health Policy Plus (HP+) suggests that 4 % of their projected province-level aggregated budget for 2021 must be spent on Covid 19 response such as vaccination drives, healthcare worker incentives and patient care cost under the National Health Insurance (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional or JKN) Scheme.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the COVID 19 pandemic also affected health care utilization.\u00a0The report by HP+ found\u00a0that healthcare visits by JKN members decreased by 36 percent in relation to public and private hospitals, 28 percent for public health centers, and 28 percent for private primary care clinics compared to a counterfactual scenario in which the COVID-19 pandemic never occurred.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0is an important policy issue for\u00a0the government of Indonesia\u00a0to\u00a0ensure\u00a0that\u00a0poor households, including subsidized members of JKN, are truly protected from\u00a0service\u00a0charges for healthcare during the continuing COVID-19 crisis. The government could also consider additional cash transfers or social safety net payments for poor households at risk of catastrophic household expenditure\u00a0while addressing the implications of the declined use of essential health services.<\/p>\n