Associations, namely, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), the Indonesian Dentists Association (PDGI), the Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI), the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI) and the Indonesian Pharmacists Association (IAI) have criticized lawmakers for not including healthcare professionals in the bill's the drafting process before putting the draft in the 2023 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list.

The IDI chairman Adib Khumaidi was adamant that lawmakers and the government should always include various stakeholders and the public to create regulations or policies related to the healthcare system as mandated by the World Health Organizations (WHO).

"We have not received the draft of the omnibus bill nor have we been consulted about it by lawmakers, but suddenly the House Legislative Body (Baleg) put the bill in next year's Prolegnas priority list," Adib said in a press conference on Monday.

"Due to the nature of the omnibus bill, we're very concerned that the proposed law will negate the existing regulations on medical professions that have been effectively implemented so far," he stressed.

An omnibus bill is a single piece of legislation that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. It is typically made to revise numerous articles in several laws at once and meant to simplify affected laws.

The IBI chairman Emi Nurjasmi highlighted the fact that the government had only passed the country's first midwifery-specific law two years ago, after 15 years of sluggish process.

"Since midwifery law was passed in 2019, we have better protection and legal certainty in our profession. The law also provides comprehensive regulations on the midwife's education, professional development, supervision and services. 

“We hope that the government and lawmakers will continue to support the implementation of this law [instead of negating it]," she said. 

Adib said that doctors, dentists, midwives and nurses have laws specifically issued to regulate their professions, while pharmacists were currently pushing members of the house of representatives to pass a pharmacists-specific law.

"All these laws have been implemented effectively for years. These regulations not only provide legal basis and guidelines for us healthcare professionals but also protect the public [from medical malpractice]. So we hope that instead of scrapping these laws, lawmakers could help us to strengthen these regulations," he said.

The House Commission IX overseeing health care and manpower have been touting the idea of creating a new Omnibus law on healthcare since last year to help the country's efforts in transforming its healthcare system post COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, the Baleg proposed the bill and last week lawmakers announced that the omnibus bill on healthcare was among 38 bills that was included in next year's Prolegnas priority list.

The content of the omnibus bill, however, remains unclear as the draft is not available for the public.

The Baleg deputy chairman Achmad Baidowi said that lawmakers have not included any medical professionals associations to engage in a discussion regarding the draft of the omnibus bill because it was still in the very early stages of development.

"The bill was proposed to the Baleg by the House expert body (BKD) and we have not thoroughly discussed it. We're planning to [seriously] discuss and formulate the bill next year," he told the press on Tuesday.

Achmad promised that lawmakers will include medical professional associations and other stakeholders in the drafting process of the bill once they set up a working committee (Panja) to formulate the bill.

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