Govt pays Rp10.6 trillion towards COVID-19 patients’ medical bills

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government has paid Rp10.6 trillion towards the settlement of medical bills of COVID-19 patients as of June 30, 2021, a Finance Ministry official has said.

The amount disbursed has reached 100 percent of the first phase ceiling for this year, chief of the fiscal policy board at the Finance Ministry, Febrio Kacaribu, disclosed at an online discussion in Jakarta on Friday.

“The settlement of claims (from hospitals) for COVID-19 patients has been improved so it can be done more quickly,” he said.

The mechanism for settling claims and disputes has been improved through the Health Minister’s Decree No. HK.01.07/MENKES/4718/2021 concerning technical guide to reimbursing the treatment expenses of COVID-19 patients at COVID-19 hospitals, he added.

To clear hospital bills of COVID-19 patients in the second phase, the government needs Rp11.97 trillion, Kacaribu said.

The arrears of the 2020 medical bills for COVID-19 patients, amounting to Rp5.6 trillion, have been settled this year, he informed.

The claims and disputes settlement team will aid the settlement of the second tranche of last year’s arrears of COVID-19 patients’ medical bills, amounting to Rp2.69 trillion, he said.

The 2020 arrears of incentives and compensations for 200,506 medical workers have been pegged at Rp1.34 trillion, or 90.8 percent, based on an assessment by the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP)

The incentives awarded to 323,486 medical workers this year amounted to Rp2.6 trillion, while death compensation for 166 medical workers reached Rp49.8 billion, Kacaribu said.

Source: Antara News