Health Ministry Caps Drug Price Increases at 20 Percent
Drugs covered under JKN/BPJS will not rise even as the rupiah weakens and oil prices climb, the ministry said.
The Health Ministry is limiting price adjustments for commercial drugs to no more than 20 percent amid the rupiah's weakening against the U.S. dollar and higher oil prices. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said drugs under the National Health Insurance Program will be kept from rising. He said exchange-rate spikes are not passed through in full to drug prices because most production costs in Indonesia are still paid in rupiah. The ministry considers increases of 10-20 percent reasonable, while anything above that is seen as unreasonable. Director General of Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Lucia Rizka Andalusia said the pharmaceutical industry has already been coordinated, with adjustments varying at 5 percent, 10 percent, up to a ceiling of 20 percent depending on the type of drug.