The final text of the health reform will finally be known next week. While it was initially budgeted for the bill to be presented to Congress this Friday, President Gustavo Petro announced that it will be implemented on Monday, February 13.
According to the Colombian president, this postponement was arranged pending the conclusions of a work table that will be carried out with the country’s EPS.
He emphasized that this proposed model has primary care and prevention as one of its pillars.
“The project has a pillar, which has several essential points, without which there is no change in health. This is not just improving the crafting, it’s not that the health system is crafting and painting. It’s come in 10,000 times since I’ve been a member of Congress. Nothing has ever come out that leads to a structural solution. Every year the problems explode,” Petro said from San José del Guaviare, while participating in the XXI Summit of Capital Cities (Asocapitales).
The head of state was emphatic in his assertion that it is necessary to reach some consensus before taking it to Congress.
Moreover, he explained that “there is no primary care and prevention system in Colombia, that was the debt left by Law 100, and it translates into a deep division between the regions regarding the right to health… Health, instead of being an individual insurance policy, it will be a territorial health”.
Other details.
To ensure the defense of the right to health and the protection of public resources, the National Health Superintendency will be given tools through the reform of the system proposed by the national government.
According to the National Health Superintendent, Ulahy Beltrán, the control will be strengthened to assume the responsibility to guarantee this right.
“This will allow a favorable condition of the people, who will have the peace of mind that the entity has the responsibility for inspection, surveillance and control, will comply with these components, for the benefit of all citizens,” Beltrán said at a journalistic workshop addressed on health taking place in the city of Cartagena.
He added that with the new tools, Supersalud will be able to identify the offenders and know what kind of violations they have committed, as well as the sanctions to be applied and records being generated.
“The idea is that the rest of the actors in the system know that there is oversight and that the rules are being applied that will be established based on what is proposed in the reform in favor of civil rights,” he added.
Reform repairs.
Gestarsalud – the union of subsidized EPS – indicated that there are seven concerns (you can read the details of each on our website) regarding the information released about the reform, due to the impact it could have on insurance of the Colombian population.
The union explained that health care reform could jeopardize progress made over the past 30 years by eliminating EPS and “creating a public monopoly” that would carry a high risk of corruption.
“We are concerned about what we have learned about the reform, which would lead to the proliferation of the functions that can be given by dividing them into different bodies. There should be a single entity responsible for the activities arising from health insurance,” says Carmen Eugenia Dávila, Executive Director of Gestarsalud.
Dávila indicated that the analysis of the current health care system should be continued in search of articulate improvements on the current foundations: “The organizations that are part of the system have fulfilled an important social function. There is room for anyone who wants to contribute to this system.”
In addition, he emphasized that the principle of solidarity must be preserved, which is reflected in equality in the Capitation Payment Unit (UPC).
“It’s the same for independent people whether they contribute or not. This aspect must be preserved, we do not see it clearly reflected in the proposal and it is something very important in the health system,” the union leader emphasized.
Source: El Heraldo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
