Finance Ministry: Hospitals Can Claim for Cost Reimbursement in Handling COVID-19 Outbreak

Director General of Budget of the Ministry of Finance Askolani has said that hospitals are now able to submit claim to the Ministry of Health for the cost of COVID-19 handling.

Askolani delivered the statement in a joint video conference on social assistance held by the Directorate General of Budget, the Directorate General of Treasury and the Directorate General of Fiscal Balance of Ministry of Finance in Jakarta (8/4).

The standard cost for handling COVID-19 has been issued by the Ministry of Health so that hospitals can immediately submit claim for the reimbursement.

“We have coordinated with the Ministry of Health for the standard cost of the COVID-19 handling. The cost of medical care, medical expenses, and mortality has been proposed by the Ministry of Health and has been approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Government will cover the standard cost for COVID-19 treatment carried out since February,” Askolani explained.

The mechanism for claim is that the hospital will submit the claim to the Social Security Agency (BPJS), then the BPJS will verify the claim and submit the approved claim to the Ministry of Health.

The hospital is entitled to propose that the reimbursement be paid every two weeks to maintain the hospital’s cash flow. The Ministry of Health will reimburse 50% of the claim after receive the claim from the hospital. The rest of the claim will be verified by BPJS in a matter of days, before being paid by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Finance also encouraged the Ministry of Health to accelerate incentive payment for medical specialists, general practitioners, nurses, and other medical personnel.

On that occasion, Askolani also said that the House of Representatives (DPR) is currently conducting internal discussion on Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 1 of 2020. The DPR will determine the time for discussing the Perppu with the Government. The Government has issued the Presidential Regulation (Perpres) as the implementing provisions of the Perppu. The 2020 State Budget will also provide budget for health sector, social safety net, and business sector. The 2020 State Budget deficit is 5.07% of the GDP.

The Ministry of Finance has allocated Rp3.3 trillion for COVID-19 handling. The budget has been submitted to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to be distributed to the public. The BNPB will also accelerate the procurement of medical devices. The anti-graft body KPK will supervise the BNPB to maintain the accountability. (PR of Ministry of Finance/EN)

Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Reviewed by: Mia Medyana