Jakarta. Indonesia will allocate Rp 20 trillion ($1.2 billion) to settle outstanding premium arrears in the national health insurance program BPJS Kesehatan, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Wednesday.

“The Rp 20 trillion fund is available and has been budgeted,” Purbaya told reporters in Jakarta.

While he did not specify the source of the allocation, indications suggest the funds will come from the planned increase in the National Health Insurance (JKN) budget to Rp 69 trillion in 2026, up from Rp 49 trillion this year. The expanded budget will also cover government-subsidized premiums for low-income participants.

Purbaya’s remarks differ slightly from a statement by BPJS Kesehatan President Director Ali Ghufron Mukti, who said the arrears would be handled through a “write-off” mechanism, effectively clearing participants’ outstanding payments from the books without requiring direct state budget financing.

The write-off is expected to apply to around 23 million BPJS participants with total arrears exceeding Rp 10 trillion, according to BPJS Kesehatan. Ghufron said the measure will not affect the agency’s cash flow.

Despite the government’s planned financial support, Purbaya urged BPJS Kesehatan to improve its financial management and operational efficiency.

The move to settle arrears and modernize BPJS Kesehatan’s internal systems comes as the government seeks to improve fiscal discipline and service delivery across Indonesia’s universal healthcare framework, which covers more than 250 million citizens.

He noted that BPJS has been burdened by costly medical equipment purchases tied to programs under the Health Ministry, and called for a review to ensure more prudent spending.

“There needs to be an assessment of which medical equipment is truly essential and which can be reduced from the purchase allocation,” Purbaya said.

The minister also pressed BPJS Kesehatan to strengthen its information technology systems to enhance oversight of claims and payments.

BPJS Kesehatan has agreed to assign 200 IT staff to standardize and integrate its digital systems nationwide, enabling better detection of unsettled or irregular claims, Purbaya said.

“I hope within six months, the system will be operational -- and BPJS has assured me that it will be,” Purbaya said.

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