Enrolment of informal sector workers in the National Health Insurance System in Indonesia: A qualitative study
Teguh Dartanto, Wahyu Pramono, Alvin Ulido Lumbanraja, and 4 more authors
2026/01/28 2020
One of the main challenges facing the expansion of universal health coverage (UHC) in developing countries like Indonesia is the high prevalence of those working in the informal sector who must voluntarily register in the National Health Insurance System (NHIS). This condition hinders some from being covered by the NHIS. Following Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital and habitus, this research aims to analyse some aspects that influence the decision of informal sector workers to join the NHIS in Indonesia. We conducted qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews of 29 informants and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in the three selected regions of Deli Serdang (North Sumatera), Pandeglang (Banten) and Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara). Using thematic content analysis and several triangulation processes, this study found that three main factors influence the decisions of those working in the informal sector to join the NHIS: health conditions, family and peers, and existing knowledge and experience. The stories provided by the informants regarding their decision-making processes in joining NHIS also reveal the necessary and sufficient conditions that enable informal sector workers to join the NHIS, which are individual-specific and which may differ between people, depending on individual characteristics, regional socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and belief systems. These three factors are all necessary conditions to support the joining of informal sector workers into the NHIS. This study suggests that one possible route for expanding the UHC coverage of informal sector workers is through maximising the word-of-mouth effect by engaging local or influential leaders.