Government files new health reform

The Colombian government submitted a new health reform bill to Congress on Friday for approval, after the previous one was rejected in the previous legislature in April of this year.

The Ministry of Health has submitted to Congress the new text, which aims to guarantee that “all citizens have access to quality services without barriers and with equity,” the ministry said.

“We want to build a health system without barriers, where every citizen, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status, can access quality services,” said the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Guillermo Jaramillo, quoted in a statement.

The new reform

According to the Ministry, the new text aims to eliminate economic, geographic and administrative barriers to accessing health services, offering an articulated network of hospitals and clinics, extending services to rural areas and promoting the training of health professionals, as well as simplifying procedures.

As in the previous reform, it aims to give more power to the Health Resources Administrator (Adres), the public entity that is responsible for transferring resources to private Health Providers (EPS) to which citizens are subscribed to receive health care.

Therefore, Adres will be the sole payer and will pay hospitals and clinics (instead of EPSs), in a system that promises to be transparent and auditable.

And, like the previous text, it seeks to focus on preventive care, with greater training for health professionals and investing in Primary Health Care Centers (CAPS) and Territorial Health Teams that “will be on the front line, providing close care to communities, reducing inequalities and responding effectively to local needs.”