Jakarta, Nov. 18 -- Indonesia's Health Ministry will replace the current bed-based tiered referral system in the National Health Insurance (JKN) program with a competency-based system, aiming to raise hospital quality across the country, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said.

"This tiered referral system will encourage regions to invest not only in more hospital beds but also in human resources and facilities for future hospital development," Harbuwono said here Tuesday.

Under the new system, smaller hospitals will be motivated to provide high-quality, specialized services. Previously, hospital categories-A, B, and C-were determined solely by the number of beds, with larger hospitals ranked higher.

Harbuwono dismissed con...