By: Stephen Son Immanuel )*
The new Health Law requires companies or employers to guarantee the health of their workers and bear the cost of health care.
One of the keys to creating a developed and growing country lies in the health of its people. If the people are physically and mentally healthy, a country is also guaranteed to be prosperous and advanced. Health is the main point of human life, therefore it must be maintained as well as possible. The Indonesian government seeks to improve people’s welfare through the ratification of the Health Law which regulates all matters relating to health.
In fact, in detail it includes health for workers or laborers who get guarantees from companies or employers by being protected by this new Health Law.
In accordance with the words of Article 10 paragraph (1) of the draft of the new Health Law (RUU), it stipulates that workers are required to get health insurance from their employers. “Employers are obliged to ensure the health of workers through promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative efforts and are obliged to bear all the costs of maintaining the health of their workers,”
In the same article, it also states that every worker or everyone who is in the entire work area or environment must protect the environment by complying with applicable occupational health and safety regulations. The dependents referred to in this article are for employers, that is, if workers experience work-related illnesses, health problems, and work-related injuries in accordance with statutory provisions.
Article 100 paragraph (4) of the Health Law reads, namely “The central government and local governments provide encouragement and assistance for worker protection,” Referring to Article 98, the central government, regional governments, employers, and administrators or managers of workplaces have the responsibility to implement occupational health efforts that are integrated with occupational health and work safety systems.
The existence of occupational health efforts is intended to increase knowledge, awareness and ability to live a healthy lifestyle, so as to prevent occupational diseases and work accidents. In addition, the efforts made are also intended to protect workers and other people who are in the workplace so that they are safe, live healthy, and are free from health problems.
Still in the Health Bill, Article 99 paragraph (6) of the Health Law reads “Employers and administrators or managers of workplaces must be responsible for work accidents that occur in the work environment and work-related illnesses in accordance with statutory provisions,” Then, for other further provisions regarding this occupational health effort will be regulated by government regulations. As you know, the Health Law has just been passed by the People’s Representative Council (DPR) through a plenary meeting.
Regarding this matter, the recently passed Health Law is of course beneficial for both parties, both employers or companies and also for workers who get insurance. The reason is, in the Health Law there are also conditions that must also be met by workers and employers, not necessarily benefiting only one party, but both must benefit equally.
In the Health Law, indeed workers are given benefits through health guarantees that must be provided by employers, even efforts related to work safety. Meanwhile, Chair of the Association of Indonesian Medical Education Institutions (AIPKI), Prof. Dr. Dr. Budi Santoso SpOG Subsp FER who is also the Dean of FK Unair also gave his response regarding the recently passed Health Law.
Prof. Dr. dr Budi Santoso SpOG Subsp FER said that they are ready to commit to maintaining quality and developing medical education in Indonesia together with AIPKI. He also said that the stance taken was related to the Health Law that had just been passed by the DPR to oversee and jointly ensure that the educational system for specialists and sub-specialists was still of high quality.
Nevertheless, this Health Law focuses on preventing rather than treating, facilitating access to health services, to the health industry which will later become independent in the country. Regarding funding, according to Budi Gunadi Sadikin as the Minister of Health, this inefficient financing has been changed to make it more transparent and effective, the health workforce has become less evenly distributed and the information system has been integrated.
After the enactment of the Health Law, it is hoped that the community will give a positive response, even socialization of the Health Law to the public needs to be intensified so that all of them understand the positive benefits of the Law. The Health Law is also predicted to create a more advanced Indonesia, not only from the health sector, but from various sectors that are pioneers in creating Indonesia’s Golden Generation 2045.
Thus, the pro-people Health Law is for the sake of realizing people’s welfare, especially guarantees for workers who get better health insurance.
)* The author is a Citaprasada Institute Contributor