Colombia's Petro presents controversial health reform to Congress
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[February 14, 2023]
By Luis Jaime Acosta
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday presented
a controversial health reform to lawmakers which his government says
will improve primary care, expand access to treatment, raise healthcare
worker salaries and fight corruption by eliminating private sector
management of payments.
The health reform is one of several key initiatives that leftist Petro,
who took office just over six months ago, wants to push through to fight
inequality, exclusion and poverty in the Andean country.
"What we want is for doctors to be able to go anywhere in the country
and care for anyone, for the country to be organized in such a way that
its people, its inhabitants, can always be cared for by healthcare
professional," Petro said while presenting the bill to Congress.
The government initially eyed eliminating private sector healthcare
providers, or EPS, and making municipal and provincial officials take
over that role instead. Critics said that would politicize healthcare
and create corruption.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/14/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
Colombia's healthcare system, in which workers pay to be affiliated with
a certain EPS, with contributions from their employers, has long
suffered from rampant corruption, with frequent complaints of patients
dying due to lack of care.
The state pays medical costs for people who cannot afford to.
However, while Petro's success in building a broad coalition in Congress
with support across the political spectrum helped him push through a tax
reform last year, plans to remove healthcare provision from the hands of
EPS caused tensions in that alliance and within his cabinet.
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![](../images/021423PIX/health55.jpg)
Colombian Minister of Health Carolina
Corcho speaks during a symbolic act of the presentation of the
health reform project at the Casa de Narino in Bogota, Colombia
February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/14/images/ads/current/llm_quarter_EDUCATION_2023.png) Coalition heavyweights including
Senate President Roy Barreras and Education Minister Alejandro
Gaviria, who led the health ministry in a previous administration,
opposed the overhaul.
Petro and Health Minister Carolina Corcho have since backed down on
taking healthcare provision away from EPS providers, but the bill
includes provisions to set up a government body to centralize
payments currently made by EPS to clinics and hospitals, to ensure
quick payouts.
Recent reports show hospitals and clinics across Colombia are
waiting for some 11.5 trillion pesos (about $2.4 billion) in
payments from EPS.
The bill would also set up primary care centers to guarantee swift
care for all patients.
Many Colombians receive medical attention through emergency
services, which bogs down the health system.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing
by Richard Chang)
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