Nurfika Osman – Two mothers who were left no option but to sell their newborns to pay hospital bills could have avoided their plight had they been informed they qualified for insurance and financing, health officials said on Thursday.

Suparti, 41, a poor woman from Gunung Kidul district near Yogyakarta, said she was forced to sell one of the twin girls to whom she had given birth to pay medical expenses for the deliveries at a state-owned hospital.

Her husband, Sarimin, 50, who makes a living doing odd jobs, failed to get a loan to pay the Rp 6 million ($660) bill. She said a hospital staff member offered to pay the bill if she allowed one of the twins to be adopted by another hospital employee.

"I had to sell one of my twin girls, whom I gave birth to only 10 days ago, because I couldn't pay the bill at Wonosari General Hospital," Suparti told state news agency Antara on Wednesday. "On Tuesday, I was allowed to go home. One of my babies was taken by Mbak Rina [the staff member]. I was not allowed to see [my child]."

Munawaroh, a poor woman who gave birth in Bali to a daughter with lung problems, was also faced with a Rp 6 million bill. Her husband, a laborer at a furniture store, had disappeared and her hospital bill grew by Rp 1.5 million per day.

"I am willing to give up my baby if someone wants to buy it, as long as I can get out of the hospital," she told the Jakarta Globe.

Usman Sumantri, the head of the Health Ministry's financing and insurance unit, told the Globe that parents who were not covered by Jamkesmas, the national health insurance scheme for the poor, should have been covered by Jamkesda, the local insurance plan.

"There should have been another health care scheme to help the parents," Usman said. "Selling the babies is not the way to solve the problem."

Bondan Agus Suryanto, head of the Yogyakarta Health Office, said patients had options available to help pay hospital bills. "We are also going to warn the hospital that when there are patients who do not have insurance, it should give them information on other options."

A hospital employee declined comment, saying the press officer had left for the day.

Syahrul Aminullah, chairman of the Indonesian Public Health Association (Iakmi), said hospitals could be sued if they did not provide care to the poor. Local governments are also responsible for providing health insurance to poor residents, Syahrul said.

[Additional reporting from Made Arya Kencana and Antara.]