Bisnis, Jakarta – The Indonesian government through the Finance Ministry's staffer, Yustinus Prastowo, said that the incentives for healthcare workers in the 2021 State Budget (APBN) will be unchanged compared to last year.
"Therefore, the incentives [for health workers] will remain the same with 2020," he stated in a text message to Bisnis.com on February 4.
Yustinus claimed that the health budget for the 2021 APBN will likely increase to Rp254 trillion compared to the previous of Rp169.7 trillion in 2020. This will include incentives and compensation for deaths of health workers, vaccinations, patient treatment, medicines, and costs to cover Covid-19 isolation.
He acknowledged that the larger budget would come from the relocation and refocusing of funds within the ministry and agency budgets up to village funds of 2021.
This clarification comes after a Finance Minister Decree Letter spread publicly showing that the healthcare workers' incentives this year will be lower than last year when the Covid-19 pandemic first broke out.