Colombians will have universal access to healthcare by 2012, announced President Juan Manuel Santos Friday.
The Colombian heathcare sector will be restructured over the next two years to integrate new government subsidies, the Colombian head of state told the media.
“We will have a universal benefit plan, an equitable and comprehensive one that will not exclude any pathology, that is not going to exclude any disease,” Santos said.
The expansion of the benefit plan begins this year, Colombian Minister of Social Protection Mauricio Santamaria explained.
“Already all minors under the age of 18 are unified [under this benefit plan]. This year people older than 60 years will be unified, and during 2012 the plan will unify people between the ages of 18 and 60 years,” Caracol Radio reported Santamaria said.
According to the president, providing this social service requires the efficient use of resources, so Colombia should have a better system that takes into account the heathcare sector’s budget.
“Healthcare is not a business and should not be approached as a business,” Santos said. He declared that the Colombian health insurance companies (EPS) should be better regulated.
EPS surveillance will be transferred to Colombia’s financial regulatory body Superfinancier.
The government’s decision to liquidate the EPS follows major corruption scandal in which the companies allegedly embezzled more than $2.5 billion.