Jakarta – A new survey shows that the amount of poor people in the country was 66 percent higher than was earlier predicted. Why? It emerges that the country's poor couldn't afford to be counted in the last survey – because it was too expensive.

The result of the latest – and free – income survey has prompted the Ministry of Health to quickly ask for more funds to be allocated for its health subsidy.

The new data compiled by state health insurance company PT Askes and local administrations showed there were 60 million people eligible for the government's scheme extended to those hit the hardest by the fuel price hikes – not the 36 million recorded by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) last year.

The new figure accounts for more than a quarter of the country's population.

"While previously we relied on BPS data for the number of poor people, now PT Askes and the local administrations compile and validate the lists in the field," Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said.

In response to increased number of poor, the health ministry plans to set aside Rp 3.7 trillion for their insurance fee under the Health Care Program for the Poor.

Last year, the government spent Rp 2.1 trillion on health subsidies for low-income groups.

The state categorizes people as poor if they earn only $1 or less a day, while the United Nations Development Planning sets the benchmark at $2 or less.

Under the Millennium Development Goals, Indonesia is required to halve the poverty rate by 2015.

Fadilah said the number of poor people had risen because many people were left unrecorded last year since they had to register and pay administration fees to obtain health insurance cards.

"If they had to pay for the cards, how can the poor afford to have them?" she said. "Now, they are not required to register and we will come to them instead." The Institute for Development of Economy and Finance (Indef) reported that last year only 26.53 percent of the cards issued were given to the poor, partly due to an inaccurate database. Corrupt officials manipulating the system is the other well-known reason why few of the target population were given cards.

PT Askes operational director I Gede Subawa said the company had completed a national master file on the number of poor people, which was currently in the process of validation through field surveys with the assistance of local administrations.

He said the health insurance cards, previously valid for the whole family, would henceforth be valid for one person only and would bear the holder's photograph taken during the field survey.

A card-holder will be eligible for free health care in government-run community health centers (Puskesmas), including hospitalization in third-class wards in public hospitals.

"We hope that the distribution will be completed by June," he said, adding that 18 million cards are ready for distribution.

Subawa said for those who had not yet acquired the new cards could instead use the old ones, or a clarification from local neighborhood units about their poor status.

Since the health subsidies are in the form of insurance, aside from waiting for claims from health centers and hospitals, PT Askes will pay Rp 1,000 per person monthly, multiplied by the total number of poor people, Subawa said.

However, PT Askes is still waiting for payment of the premium from the government.

"We hope that some Rp 1 trillion of the premium will be paid this month (April)," he said, adding that the company had so far spent Rp 30 billion to cover claims made by health centers and hospitals.