Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – The number of Indonesians participating in the ambitious national health insurance program launched under the Social Security Organizing Body, or BPJS, is expected to grow next year. Current figures have already surpassed the 2014 target, according to an official.

"Based on our data, more than 125 million have enrolled in the program since last year – higher than our initial target of 121.6 million," BPJS spkesperson Irfan Humiadi told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

"This result is unexpected. Even though we have reached our target, we're still actively putting out information and increasing our marketing efforts to promote the health scheme," Irfan said.

The insurance applicants include millions of people who were already covered by the community health protection scheme (Jamkesmas), the regional health protection scheme (Jamkesda), and civil servants who were covered by insurance provider Asuransi Kesehatan or Askes, among others.

Irfan said employees from the private sector have also registered, and industrial-based companies and businesses have demonstrated good cooperation.

"Around four million have already registered for the insurance," Irfan said. "Motorcycle taxi drivers, street vendors and traders at traditional markets are also included within this group," he added.

Nevertheless, Junaedi, the BPJS director in charge of registration, said the number of employees in the private sector who had jointed the national insurance system was lower than hoped for.

Only 146,878 workers, or 15 percent of the private sector, have joined the health insurance scheme to date – a far cry from the BPJS's target of one million.

"We always set our targets high, because the participation from the private sector is also high. Last June, the participation increased by 180 percent," Junaedi said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Applicants have been asked to file their registrations with the compulsory government program independently.

BPJS aims for national insurance to manage the health coverage of more than 200 million Indonesians, out of the total population of some 250 million, by 2019.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/enrollment-national-health-insurance-exceeds-expectation/