Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development

Since January 1, 2019, Indonesia has entered the era of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that is sustainable. This success is considered an innovation in the coverage of almost all communities to be able to access available health services. In some districts/cities, the membership of the National Health Insurance System (NHIS) does not cover 100 percent, such as Samarinda. This has an impact on the low universal coverage of NHIS, so that citizens experience obstacles to accessing the health services they need.

There are four focus group discussions (FGD), which are made according to large ethnic groups in Samarinda, namely the Banjar, Javanese, Bugis and Dayak ethnic groups. The discussion participants were almost all housewives, they were considered to have a high level of concern for their household health problems, and eight main informant interviews. Content analysis was used to explore the phenomena that emerged in this study.

Findings show that approachability dimensions (distance traveled, travel time, and transportation costs), including health insurance coverage, are a problem for some multi-ethnic communities. Although there was no discrimination in vulnerable groups such as the elderly and pregnant women, it was revealed that other patients felt different treatment when receiving services. Available health facilities are considered adequate. However, the number of health workers (doctors and paramedics), is considered lacking. The low level of government attention and lack of socialization from the Social Security Agency of Health (SSAH) are considered as obstacles to achieving UHC in Samarinda City.

There are still obstacles to access for ethnic groups who are located far from the city center. Revealed the existence of ‘discrimination’ patients when using health care facilities.