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Colombia's Eje Cafetero Healthcare System Crippled by EPS Debt, Services Suspended
🇨🇴 Colombia /Health & Science

Colombia's Eje Cafetero Healthcare System Crippled by EPS Debt, Services Suspended

From El Tiempo · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Hundreds of residents in Colombia's Eje Cafetero region are facing suspended medical services due to significant debts owed by health insurance providers (EPS) to local healthcare facilities.
  • Hospitals, including Hospital San Jorge in Pereira, have restricted services to four EPS, citing accumulated debts exceeding 122 billion pesos, impacting general and specialist care.
  • Health authorities are urgently calling on the national government and the Superintendency of Health to intervene as the crisis affects thousands of users across Quindío and Caldas departments.

A critical healthcare crisis is unfolding in Colombia's Eje Cafetero region, as hundreds of residents are being denied essential medical services. Hospitals and clinics have begun restricting care for users of several EPS (health insurance providers) due to massive, unfulfilled payment obligations, leaving patients without access to general medicine and specialist consultations.

The accumulated debt amounts to 122,633 million pesos, representing more than 60 percent of the hospital's entire portfolio.

— Diego Fernando Rivas, Director Asistencial del Hospital San JorgeExplaining the financial strain on Hospital San Jorge due to unpaid EPS debts.

The Hospital San Jorge in Pereira has taken a drastic step, restricting services to four EPS, Nueva EPS, Pijao Salud, Coosalud, and Asmet Salud, due to an overwhelming debt that has surpassed 122 billion pesos. This amount represents over 60 percent of the hospital's total outstanding receivables. While the hospital assures it will continue to provide emergency care, non-vital services are suspended, creating significant hardship for affected patients.

In the Quindío department, approximately 55,000 users of Asmet Salud are only receiving life-saving emergency attention in public hospitals. The situation is dire, with the regional health secretary, Luisa Fernanda Arcila, urgently appealing to the national government and the Superintendency of Health for intervention. She highlighted that clinics and IPS have been holding back services for days due to the substantial debt, amounting to 35 billion pesos owed to the public network and 43 billion to the private sector.

From several days ago, clinics, hospitals, and IPS implemented a containment in the provision of services due to the high portfolio that the EPS maintains, which amounts to 35 billion with the public network and 43 billion with the private network.

— Luisa Fernanda Arcila, Secretary of Health of QuindíoDescribing the widespread suspension of services across Quindío due to EPS non-payment.

Caldas department is also experiencing service interruptions. The SES Hospital de Caldas announced it is once again closing its doors to a specific EPS. Despite commitments from the new interventor to make payments totaling around 10 billion pesos in April and May, these have not materialized, leaving the hospital with an outstanding debt of approximately 80 billion pesos. The lack of payment is paralyzing the regional healthcare system, jeopardizing the well-being of thousands.

Despite the multiple...

— Hospital SES de Caldas directivesIndicating a history of broken payment promises from the EPS.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Tiempo in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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