Jakarta – Although the government has disbursed Rp 10.5 trillion (US$743 million) to cover the deficit of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan), the Pharmaceutical Companies Association (BP Farmasi) said medicine manufacturers have received only a fraction of what they are owed.
BP Farmasi chairman Tirto Kusnadi said the unpaid debt for BPJS Kesehatan's medicine purchases now totals Rp 3.6 trillion.
"From Rp 10 trillion, only 6 to 10 percent went for payment of medicines," he said after meeting Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Jakarta on Wednesday as reported by tribunnews.com.
Meanwhile, an official with the Vice President's office, Bambang Widianto, confirmed that pharmaceutical companies only got a Rp 300 billion payment from the BPJS Kesehatan.
Tirto said most of the money was used by hospitals to pay their employees and fees for other medical services and hospital needs.
He explained one problem in the payment procedure was that hospitals did not directly transfer money to the pharmaceutical companies, but through third parties. (bbn)