The Source of Waste in Indonesia’s Health Care Expenditure: Smoking Attributable Disease

This Policy Brief was written by the Center for Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) in Indonesia. The Policy Brief estimates the health care costs of tobacco use in Indonesia to be between Rp 17.9 trillion and Rp 27.7 trillion in 2019, or between 0.1% and 0.2% of the GDP, respectively. These figures are much higher than the amount that is earmarked from tobacco revenue for the health care system, suggesting that these costs are a significant burden on the country. Specifically, these costs fall on the Social Security Agency for Health and the national health insurance program and negatively impact their sustainability. The policy brief recommends policy interventions to reduce the prevalence of smoking and earmark revenue from tobacco more effectively.