Yogyakarta, 9 October 2019: Developing a long-term care system in Indonesia was the focus of a workshop held in Yogyakarta on 9 October 2019. Organised by Indonesia’s National Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), the workshop was part of a series of workshops in several places in Indonesia to coordinate the policies of multiple ministries related to population ageing. These include the Ministry of Coordination, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Affairs, and the National Population and Family Planning Board. Representatives from the local governments of Jakarta, Yogyakarta, East Java, and Bali joined the workshop.

Dr Osuke Komazawa, special advisor to the president of ERIA for health care and long-term care policy, delivered a keynote address on Japan’s long-term care system. He gave an overview of the population ageing status in Indonesia and Japan and an outline of Japan’s long-term care system, which was based on a social (compulsory) insurance system established in 2000. This insurance system, Dr Komazawa explained, was developed against the background of the history of Japan’s unique policy on medical care services for older people. He said that Japan introduced co-payment–free medical care provision for the people aged 70 or above in the 1970s but abandoned it in the 1980s because of the skyrocketing cost of medical care. It was recognised then that the long-term care system had to be established separately from the medical care provision system. He said that Japan’s long-term care insurance is financed equally by contributions by the insured and tax revenue. Dr Komazawa concluded that, as the proportion of older people (especially the oldest old) grows rapidly, establishing a sustainable long-term care system is crucial.

The workshop featured a video lecture by the Tsao Foundation of Singapore and two panel discussions, the first of which mainly consisted of national government officials from related ministries, and the second of local government officials.

The workshop, which was also supported by the Asian Development Bank, was expected to be a milestone in developing an integrated guideline of long-term care, which is being formulated by BAPPENAS. Although several ministries and institutions have their own guidelines, these are sectoral. For this reason, BAPPENAS, together with line ministries, experts, academics, and practitioners, is required to develop an integrated guideline.