The National Government's decree on preventive health model is suspended.

The First Section of the Council of State has decreed the provisional suspension of Decree 0858 of 2025 , through which the Government sought to implement the so-called Preventive, Predictive, and Resolutive Health Model . The decision stipulates that the decree cannot take effect while the nullity claim is being processed .

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Andrés Forero , who argued that the decree encroached on powers that belong exclusively to the Congress of the Republic.

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What motivated the suspension?

For the Council of State, Decree 0858 was not limited to technical or operational aspects of the health sector. In its analysis, the high court determined that the law: - Modifies structural elements of the health system, such as principles, care mechanisms, territorial governance, and institutional powers. - Introduces substantial changes to current legal models, which amounts to reforming the structure of the health system without resorting to Congress.

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The court concluded that the government “ exceeded the constitutional limits of its regulatory function ” by carrying out profound transformations of the system without legislative support.

He also argued that the configuration of the right to health benefits must be subject to the principle of confidentiality of law, given that it is an essential public service whose regulation cannot be done exclusively by decree.

Its scope

With this precautionary decision, the implementation of the territorial model proposed by the Executive Branch is " paused ." In practice: - The Preventive, Predictive, and Resolutive Health Model cannot be applied while the lawsuit is being resolved. - The legal effects of the contested decree are suspended until the Council of State issues a substantive ruling. - The measure will be notified to the parties (Ministry of Health, Presidency) and may be appealed.

The suspension represents a major setback to the government's attempt to impose health care reform through administrative channels, especially given the stagnation of the corresponding bill in Congress .

What the decree proposed

Decree 0858 and the related resolution sought to establish a more preventative model in health, redefine functions, reorganize territoriality and strengthen state coordination in the sector. Specifically, it proposed: - That the Territorial Entities have a decisive role in the organization and direction of the RIITS. - That the EPS lose key functions such as the formation of networks, referral control and resource administration. That the State assume a more central role in the coordination, financing and management of the health system.

However, various sectors (former ministers, academics, medical associations) warned that such modifications constitute a " de facto " reform, since they implied structural changes without going through legislative debate or having fiscal support.

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