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The Ministry of Health, routinely criticized for its management of the national health insurance scheme for the poor, said on Wednesday that it was ready to give up the task.

“We are ready. It will not be a big problem for us to hand over the management of Jamkesmas,” said Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, referring to the scheme by its acronym. “But the question is, to whom do we transfer this big responsibility?”

There has been considerable debate over who should manage Jamkesmas, the program that provides free or low-cost health care to about 76.4 million low-income Indonesians but has been criticized for being held back by red tape and other inefficiencies.

The long-awaited bill on social security, known as BPJS, is expected to transfer the management of Jamkesmas to a new body. But the government has yet to decide on which organization should take over the reins.

Public heath expert Kartono Muhammad said he believed an independent body should be given the task. “The body should be monitored by the Ministry of Finance but no ministry should control it. It should be independent,” he said, echoing statements by other health experts.

Experts have said that because the Health Ministry issued the policy regarding Jamkesmas, it should not be in charge of managing the budget for the program.

Kartono also said that by establishing a new body, the government could minimize the friction between the existing state-owned insurance companies.

Before 2007, the national health insurance scheme was called Askeskin and was managed by state health insurance firm Askes. Other state-owned insurance schemes are Jamsostek, Asabri and Taspen, which manage insurance for workers, soldiers and civil servants respectively.

Discussions on the BPJS bill have stalled because of endless debate between the government and the House of Representatives about whether the four companies should be merged into one or remain independent entities.

Hasbullah Thabrany, a public health professor from University of Indonesia, said there was no need for a special body and the merger of the four insurance companies was not a significant issue for Jamkesmas.

“Whether it is a single body or multiple bodies, Jamkesmas must be managed properly,” he said. “We don’t need a separate agency to do that.”