Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The President has called for improvement in the Askeskin health insurance program for the poor following alleged mark-ups by state-owned insurance firm PT Askes in managing the program.

"We have evaluated the implementation of Askeskin to ensure that in the future the program will really cover those who need it without any misappropriation," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a media conference after a limited Cabinet meeting at the Health Ministry.

He said it was common if there were problems in such a new program.

"But I cannot directly state there have been mark-ups in the program. We must conduct a thorough auditing of the company first to find it out," he said.

PT Askes has been accused of marking up hospital claims, resulting in expenses in excess of the program's Rp 4.6 trillion (US$500 million) budget.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari previously announced the ministry would end its contract with PT Askes, but later it agreed to a new plan with the insurance firm.

Siti said under the new plan the money would be directly disbursed to hospitals instead of going through PT Askes. The firm would only be responsible for managing information on patient eligibility.

"I only ask that the plan be implemented transparently to minimize mismanagement," she said.

It was speculated that fraudulent hospital claims might have caused the program to exceed its budget by Rp 1.2 trillion last year.

Yudhoyono said he expected an audit would allow the government to improve Askeskin to minimize corruption and provide benefits to 76 million poor people.

The Health Ministry received a total of Rp 19.7 trillion from the state budget this year, up from Rp 18.7 trillion the previous year. The allocation has been increased year by year.

Yudhoyono said that among the issues taking priority in the health sector this year were infant and maternal mortality rates.

The President also asked regional administrations to help the government monitor the program's implementation, and he called on regional leader candidates to keep their campaign promises.

"They (the candidates) have to be very careful when campaigning. Otherwise, the public will blame me or Pak Kalla (Vice President Jusuf Kalla) if the candidates fail to deliver on their promises of free health facilities," he said.