A first step towards meeting Indonesia’s ambition for universal health insurance was made in 2005 with the introduction of the Health Insurance for the Poor (Askeskin) program, a subsidized social health insurance targeted on the poor and the informal sector. This scheme covered basic healthcare in public health clinics and hospital inpatient care. In this paper we investigate targeting and impact of the Askeskin program using household panel data. We find that the program is indeed targeted on the poor and those most vulnerable to catastrophic out-of-pocket health payments. The public health insurance improves access to healthcare in that it increases utilization of outpatient healthcare among the poor, while out-of-pocket spending seems to have increased for Askeskin insured in urban areas.