DPR to Ratify Health Bill This Afternoon, Plenary Meeting Commences

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - House of Representatives (DPR) will conduct Plenary Meeting to decide the approval of the Health Bill today, Tuesday, July 11, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. "It is true, the Plenary Meeting of the Health Bill agendas will be held tomorrow, in accordance with the invitations we received," said Commission IX member Saleh Dauly as quoted by Antara, Monday, July 10, 2023.

The agenda for this meeting will focus on level II discussion or decision-making of the Health Bill. The meeting will be attended by Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, as guaranteed by Head of Public Communication and Service Bureau Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi. "He will attend. He is the only one confirming so far," she said.

Several healthcare workers' organizations who opposed this Bill since the start are planning to demonstrate against its approval. The organizations consist of Indonesian Doctors Association, the Indonesian National Nurses Association, the Indonesian Midwives Association, the Indonesian Pharmacists Association, and the Indonesian Dental Doctors Association. "In regards to the plan to sign the Health Bill on July 11, 2023, during the Plenary Meeting of DPR RI, five organizations coordinated by PPNI will hold actions of Save Indonesian's Health," the quoted invitations were relayed by IDI to the media.

Opposition against the Health Bill is also voiced by the Inter-Professional Professor Forum (FGBLP). They believed that the Bill is a risk to the health system stability in Indonesia. "Various articles in the Bill are a trigger to destabilize the health system and a disturbance to the nation's health resilience," said the FGBLP representative, Laila Nuranna in an online press conference on Monday, July 10, 2023.

Laila said that some articles in the Bill are not conducive and show disregard for Indonesia's health resilience, including the article governing professional organizations and the convenient way foreign workers enter Indonesia. "This is not beneficial for the majority of Indonesians, who are still combating poverty," Laila said. Therefore, she added, FGBLP submitted for a postponement regarding the approval of the Bill to the government so a revision by professional experts and all relevant stakeholders could be commenced.

Previously, the Head of the Legal Bureau of the Ministry of Health Indah Febrianti said that the Bill has regulated a rigid term to employ foreign medical and health personnel in Indonesia. The Health Bill only limited employment for foreign healthcare personnel in regard to specialist doctors and sub-specialist doctors. "In principle, the regulation to employ medical and health personnel depended on specific needs," said Laila in "Kemen-cast" on June, 27,2023.

Meanwhile, Commission IX member Netty Prasetiyani Heryawan guaranteed no change in the draft agreed upon in the level I discussion. "Our position is still the same," she said. 

ANTARA

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