Members of health insurance company Empresas Promotoras de Salud (EPS) will not be able to receive care in Bogota’s hospitals due to a $150 million unpaid debt.
Bogota’s ombudsman released a statement Tuesday that blamed various Colombian health insurance companies for putting the city’s hospital network “on the brink of financial disaster.”
According to the ombudsman’s report, Bogota hospitals are owed $300 million by health insurance companies. EPS, the most delinquent health insurance company, owes $150 million to local hospitals.
“We have seen that there is an unjustifiable delay of payment from EPS in 365 days with 50 percent of hospitals portfolio at risk, and to cope with this we made a commitment to the directors of public hospitals to create productive working groups to improve portfolio management and make payment arrangements with the EPS,” said Bogota Ombudsman Mario Solano Calderon.
Calderon expressed concern for those members covered by EPS health insurance.
“This situation is worrisome because it will infringe the right to care for users of this system and could jeopardize their life and physical health.”
The ombudsman has therefore made an “urgent appeal” to all those involved in the health system, asking them to “seriously consider the responsibility, compliance, and obligations as they can not afford to have [Bogota’s] hospital network paralyzed while violating the rights of users.”