Child Health Insurance or BPJS: Which Should You Choose?

You should know up front that both child health insurance and BPJS (Indonesia's national health insurance program) are good forms of health protection. Both cover your child's medical costs. If you are still torn over which to choose, child health insurance or BPJS, the differences below are worth reading.

Premiums

A premium is the fee charged to the insured, payable under the terms of the original contract. The size of the premium will weigh in your decision on which to choose, child health insurance or BPJS.

Child health insurance

With child health insurance, the older the child, the higher the premium you pay. Premiums also differ by gender, with different rates for boys and girls.

BPJS

Unlike private child health insurance, BPJS has a relatively affordable premium. Contributions do not vary with the child's age, and there is no difference in the premium between boys and girls. Everyone pays the same.

Benefits

The benefits you receive will also help you decide which to choose, child health insurance or BPJS.

1. Child health insurance
   Most child health insurance plans cover inpatient care, outpatient care, surgery, ambulance, medication, doctor consultations, vaccination or immunization, and even NICU care for premature babies.
2. BPJS
   BPJS covers promotive and preventive services such as health education, immunization, outpatient care, inpatient care, dental care, ambulance, medication, doctor consultations and NICU care for premature babies. You could say BPJS offers more benefits than child health insurance.

Service

Here is how child health insurance and BPJS compare on the service they provide.

1. Child health insurance
   Child health insurance has a faster patient admission process and no trouble with processing. In other words, admission under child health insurance is not complicated.
2. BPJS
   BPJS provides tiered service to patients, based on levels of healthcare facilities (faskes). You must first use the lowest-level facility to get a referral to move up to a higher-level one. This process, or bureaucracy, is fairly convoluted compared with child health insurance.

Choice of Hospitals

On hospital choice, child health insurance looks stronger than BPJS.

1. Child health insurance
   With child health insurance, you can easily seek treatment or medical care at many hospitals. You also don't need to worry about the bill, since child health insurance will cover all the medical costs for that treatment.
2. BPJS
   BPJS does not give your child many hospital options. If your child falls ill, they can be treated only at hospitals that have partnered with BPJS, and you can change your chosen BPJS partner hospital only once in a 3-month period.

That is a brief answer to your question of which to choose, child health insurance or BPJS. We hope it helps.