In his speech, President Petro stated that the measures on the intervened EPS will not only continue, but will be expanded.

President Gustavo Petro, in his presidential address this Tuesday, addressed the Comptroller's Office report on the debt owed by public health insurance companies to hospitals and clinics. The president stated—as he had previously stated in his X address—that the total debt owed by health promoters in Colombia is not 32.9 billion pesos, but rather exceeds 100 billion. During his speech, he also warned that if a new Financing Law is not passed, the state will go bankrupt.

"Law 100 and the leaders who defend it have taken 100 billion pesos from the healthcare system," he stated. The president also referred to the health care providers (EPS) intervened by the government and stated that their debt to hospitals has decreased.

The president pointed out that the difference is due to the fact that the Comptroller's Office report should have been estimated annually according to inflation rates. "That means the 29 EPSs owe much more than 32.9 billion pesos to the IPSs," he insisted.

"They took Sanitas away from us there, and it turns out we reduced Sanitas's debt. The intervention was favorable," added President Petro, referring to the Constitutional Court's decision to suspend the intervention of the EPS.

In this regard, he noted that the intervention in these EPSs will not only continue, but will expand. "We have one of the worst healthcare systems in the world; it's destroying the Colombian state," he said.

The president pointed out that the debt of the non-intervened EPSs doubled over the last year. "Where is the prosecutor who isn't investigating? Why didn't they order forensic accounting? They doubled the debt in one year and came up with a lie as an excuse. They simply took the money that the minister, against my will, made them increase the UPC so much above inflation," he stated, and then launched several more attacks on the Keralty company.

Petro pointed out that the government has paid more than it should for the sustainability of the system and stated that, as of December 31, only 71 billion pesos remain from the "Final Point Agreement."

To support his claim that his administration has contributed the most to the insurance of Colombians, the president presented a graph with data from the Liquidations and Guarantees Directorate of ADRES, which shows that more than 200 billion pesos have been allocated to this area since 2023.

He then addressed the EPS revenues. The president stated that, as of December 31, 2024, the total UPC transferred by ADRES to the 29 EPSs is 87.8 billion pesos, but when checking the companies' reports, only 85.1 billion pesos appears.

"Where did the money go? The difference is 2.71 billion that hasn't appeared, and there's no judicial process. This should be reported to the Prosecutor's Office and the Attorney General's Office," he said.

The head of state also presented a graph showing that, when adding the resources lost since 2020 and reported in the Comptroller's Office reports, the total is 15.7 trillion pesos, for which there is no information regarding their use and destination.

She also presented a 2014 document, signed by Sandra Morelli when she was Comptroller General, in which she alerted then-Ministers Alejandro Gaviria (Health) and Mauricio Cárdenas (Finance) about the financial situation of the EPS.

The president focused part of his speech on the case of Coosalud, a health insurance company that went from having a debt of 702.143 billion pesos in 2023 to a debt exceeding 2.5 trillion pesos in 2024. "It's a dead system and, therefore, it must be changed to a preventive system," he said.

He also defended himself against criticism regarding the country's drug shortages. "Lies. We have overpaid 90.3 percent of what the medicines are worth. So why are there no medicines in pharmacies? That's why people are complaining, and rightly so, because the managers don't deliver the medicines, not the government," he stated.

In this regard, he stated that either the EPSs keep the money the government gives them, or the operators themselves, who, not receiving payments, do not provide the service.

Finally, he noted that the only salvation for the EPSs is the approval of the health reform. "We're going to give cheap loans to the remaining EPSs, so they can transition from financial intermediaries to life managers and save themselves. In other words, this government is saving the EPSs," he added.

In early July, the Comptroller's Office reported that the accumulated debt of health care providers amounted to 32.9 billion pesos and that administrative seizures by the Superintendency have not improved their solvency.

According to the health sector's financial report, as of December of last year, the accumulated debt of the EPSs, which amounts to billions, demonstrates financial unsustainability and a critical state of the system. Additionally, 16 entities are experiencing liquidity problems that limit their ability to meet their immediate obligations.

The regulatory body indicated that, of the 157 EPS authorized since Law 100 of 1993 came into effect, only 29 are currently operating, and only six of them—covering just 10.92% of total members—meet the required financial conditions: minimum capital, adequate equity, and investment in technical reserves.

"The liquidations have overburdened the remaining EPSs, which must take on affiliates without sufficient operational or financial capacity, deepening the crisis," the report states.

None of the EPSs intervened by the National Health Superintendency (SNS) meet the solvency requirements established by current regulations, which demonstrates that state control has not been effective in addressing the financial reasons for which they were administratively taken over by the Government.

CAMILO A. CASTILLOPolitical EditorX: (@camiloandres894)