Jakarta. Indonesia is overhauling its health subsidy system after discovering that more than half of the population has been receiving state-funded coverage under the national health insurance program, raising concerns over mistargeted benefits.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Wednesday that at least 11 million participants have been removed from the subsidized membership list of BPJS Kesehatan after being found ineligible for government support.

Government data showed that subsidies had covered 159.1 million people out of Indonesia’s population of 289 million -- including individuals from higher-income groups.

“We found that BPJS participants whose contributions are fully or partially paid by the government -- both central and regional -- total 159.1 million people. That means more than 50% of the population has their premiums covered by the state,” Budi told lawmakers during a parliamentary hearing.

Of the total, the central government subsidizes around 96 million participants, regional governments cover 48.9 million, while a joint central-regional scheme accounts for 13.6 million.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency revealed that a portion of the subsidies had been allocated to higher-income households, highlighting inefficiencies in the targeting mechanism.

“There is an anomaly where not all of the funds are going to the poorest groups. Even individuals in the top 10% income bracket have been receiving subsidies,” Budi said.

Participants removed from the subsidy program have been given a transition period until the end of April to switch to self-funded coverage, while the government works to update and improve the accuracy of its beneficiary database.

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