Bill on Health

Medicine, medical treatments, and the provision of medical services are areas that are subject to constant change. This change happens as new discoveries and technologies are made, and there are improvements in the manner of treatment. So, it is of little surprise that the government has deemed that the current regulatory framework, and in particular Law No. 28 of 1992, are no longer fit for their intended purpose.

The process of drafting legislation is not always just as simple as going through the motions. The process can be long and tortuous and the Bill on Health is not an exception to the rule in this case. The idea of a bill has been on the legislative agenda since at least 2000. The bill was even slated for discussion back in 2004. Unfortunately, this debate and discussion did not go as planned and the bill went on the backburner until 2009.

However, it is expected that Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) will finalize the bill before the end of August. Commission IX has responsibility over medical matters.

The bill, and as would have been expected, is comprehensive. The current bill comprises 123 articles spread over 19 Chapters. The rationale for such comprehensiveness is that the developments in medicine and medical technology since 1992 warrant it.

The bill in some places dictates that new developments and discoveries in medicine and medical technology must be made available to the public and in the public interest. Yet, there is a caveat on this availability where the advances are deemed to be contrary to the improvement of public health. Simply, if a development or discovery is deemed to endanger public health or specifically the health of individuals then these are to be prohibited. Nevertheless, these prohibitions are not expected to totally hinder the development of radical or experimental treatments and technologies.

Interestingly, but once again not surprisingly, the bill highlights that the government is going to take a fuller and more pro-active role in establishing the prices of medicines and drugs made available to the public. However, the government has already been relatively pro-active in this area with Department of Health through Ministerial Regulations setting pricing and labeling guidelines (see ILB 267 28/2/2006). Nevertheless, for the purposes of greater legal certainty and control of medicine prices is reflective of the government’s desire to reduce the arbitrary nature of the free market in determining the prices of medicines.

Despite the honourable intention on the part of the government in wanting to be heavily involved in the pricing of medicines in order that medicines are available across the board to all Indonesians in spite of their incomes. This could also have been achieved by requiring that generic medicines be made available for those who are unable or unwilling to buy branded medications. It remains to be seen whether pharmaceutical companies are going to lobby against this provision and how hard they will go.

The bill requires that all associated subordinate or implementing regulations be enacted and confirmed no later than one year from the date of enactment of the bill. The bill, once enacted, repeals and replaces Law No. 28 of 1992.