The Aceh Government's policy regarding the restructuring of the Aceh Health Insurance (JKA) through Regulation No. 2 of 2026 is currently in the public spotlight. This policy restricts health funding only to the poor and vulnerable groups, a step taken following a drastic reduction in the 2026 JKA budget allocation to IDR 100 billion from the initial proposal of IDR 913.3 billion.
Teuku Muliadi, a lecturer at Teuku Umar University (UTU), views the adjustment of target beneficiaries as a rational step to respond to regional fiscal limitations. However, he issued a strong warning regarding potential administrative injustice. According to him, the implementation of this policy is too rushed, while the quality of the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS/DTSEN) at the field level is not yet fully accurate.
Data synchronization issues and overlapping membership with the National Health Insurance (JKN) have actually been latent problems in the management of JKA since 2020. This fiscal burden has become heavier as the Aceh Special Autonomy Fund (DOKA) has shrunk since 2023. Under the new scheme, healthcare access is determined based on decile status; deciles 1-5 are covered by JKN, deciles 6-7 are funded by the Aceh Government, while deciles 8-10 no longer receive regional subsidies.
Muliadi highlighted that administrative categories are often not aligned with reality on the ground. He cited the example of vulnerable families who administratively fall into decile 8—and lose their right to protection—simply because they own basic assets, even though economically they have no steady income. Such data verification errors risk closing off healthcare access for citizens who should be receiving assistance.
As a solution, Muliadi appreciated the initiative of the West Aceh Government in forming the DTSEN Update Task Force as a concrete step towards improving data from the lowest level. This data validation effort is considered crucial to ensure that no more poor citizens are neglected due to an imprecise classification system.
Throughout its journey, the JKA has indeed been continuously plagued by budget issues. Ranging from premium inflation to contribution debts to BPJS Kesehatan reaching IDR 761 billion in 2023, forcing the government to make various efforts to patch the deficit. Now, the biggest challenge for the Aceh Government is to ensure that this 2026 restriction policy does not instead sacrifice the basic health rights of the community due to immature data.
