Healthcare in Indonesia

There is some free healthcare in Indonesia but it's not always available to everyone, even with the edit at the bottom of this post.
Some are still too poor, or just don't know about it.
Babies are supposed to get immunisations free but that's not always the case as health workers are poorly paid so often charge anyway.
Some doctors are really cheap. That's forced as the people they treat have very little money.
Walking into their surgery is very much like walking into a British doctor in the 1960s.
The vast majority of the population can't afford much healthcare so simple problems, curable or manageable with free healthcare,  kill them.

Expats are welcome to use these simple services as I have on a few occasions when I lived in a village.

Local government run hospitals (Rumah sakit umun) are not always as clean as you would like but provide a cheap service.
My daughter was born in such a place. The care was reasonable but could have been better.
That cost me about US$270.

The large private hospitals I've seen are very much like 5 star hotels with doctors as an extra service. Nothing is too good for the 'guest', but that requires cash in large quantities.
I've visited a couple of people in Eka hospital, BSD. Pretty good. Private, en suite rooms with TV and the sort of full service you'd expect from an expensive hotel. The medical equipment looked very modern and well maintained.
Dust and dirt are things they don't have because the cleaning staff is larger than any hospital I've seen in the UK.
24 hour cleaning.

Minor medical problems are cheap and easy to sort out so insurance would be a bit of a waste.
A major problem, road accident or whatever, could kill you if you don't have such insurance or the cash to pay for the treatment.

expat insurance comes expensive. I've been offered several 'great deals' that would cost me about half of my salary per month.
Forget them - rip off jobs.
Locals don't pay stupid money for insurance so use the same services they do.

Edit - 5-5-15 - BPjS health insurance is now available to expats on KITAS/P
It's cheap and available to pretty much everyone mentioned.
The rest of the post still stands as accurate, but consider the changes brought about by the new insurance.



.

Dentists are everywhere.
The cheapest butchers operate from wooden shacks but that goes right up to top quality, state of the art surgeries where the best of everything is available.
You can pay very small but, caveat emptor, or pay top dollar and get the best of anything and everything.

Hi,

In order to help expats and soon-to-be expats, we would like to invite you to share your experience on this topic, with updated info on the healthcare system.

Thank you in advance,

Julie
Expat.com Team

Public healthcar? Never? Hospital here in Amlapura, dirty and overcrowded. Only rich people can afford good health care.
I found a very good local dentist. Would recommend him.
Either you go to Singapore or Bangkok, if you can afford it or risk it.

As far as I am concerned, I am lucky enough to be happily married with my Indonesian wife who is a pharmacist and a head executive civil servant working at the Indonesian Public Health Service. Therefore I could access a decent doctor and dentists from the Indonesian National Health without having to pay a fortunes for it. All my expenses are refunded by the French National Health as I am a retired TOEFL from the French state Education Nationale.

Don't drink the tap water. Don't even wash your teeth in it, unless you boil it first - otherwise buy Aqua (the preferred brand of bottled water).

Doctors seem ok - and they're cheap, though language could be a problem if you don't speak Indonesian.

I've lived here for 14 years and have never had any health concerns.

All in all - nothing to worry about.

Ian

Hi Julien,
I can't tell about indonésian insurance because i have international insurance. I experienced and heard a lot of wrong medical diagnoses in Indonesia in public and private clinics.
So i wonder if there is not a problem with that.

Santo Borromeus is a well established Catholic Hospital in Bandung.......doctors and specialists are excellent......I am considered too old to have medical insurance. I had a major kidney related operation at this Hospital in 2006........stayed in a VIP suite for 8 days.....total cost then was (equivalent) 3 thousand dollars. I had been 4 times to very commercial hospital in Singapore......4 procedures there swallowed up a large slice of my savings and I was no better. After the Bandung procedure in 2006 which involved 6 doctors I am still in the land of the living. Had been given 2 - 5 years back in 2006 by a doctor at another hospital. Every month I go to Borromeus Bandung...Dr Dian one of the internists speaks excellent English and is very thorough. The staff know me and these hospital visits are always enjoyable!

I have a KITAS (and soon a KITAP) so I signed up for BPJS the Indonesian National health Insurance.  I had cataracts and was quoted 20M rupiah from Siloam for EACH eye.  I just had it done FOR FREE at the Eye Hospital near Renon.  All for free including follow-up checkups and all the medicines (pain, antibiotic and many eye drops) - all for free.  I could NOT be happier.  The machines at this hospital are on the same par as Siloam.  The doctor (who speaks English) was excellent.  I now have NO cataracts and 20-20 in both eyes.  If you have a KITAS or a KITAP - sign up immediatly

Hi everybody,

Just to inform you that some inappropriate topics have been removed.
Let's stick to the topic : "Healthcare in Indonesia" please.

Thanks

Priscilla 

Many drugs that require a doctor's prescription in western countries are available freely here from a pharmacy.
Antibiotics are easily bought legally over the counter, but I would strongly suggest avoiding self diagnosis, seeing a doctor before doing much else.
Saying that, it's commonly far cheaper to buy the doctor prescribed drugs from a local place, not the hospital that issued the prescription.
Generic drugs are available but reliability and quality are in question.

Hi Julian

I am a Medical Doctor, graduate from India and have worked in Jakarta / Malaysia and Singapore

Healthcare in Indonesian Private Hospitals are not very far from abroad , in terms of qualities and efficiency.

Due to high cost, it is always advisable to have a Medical Insurance , preferably covering Medical Evacuation in case of real emergency .



Dr Asogan MBBS