End of the EPS as we know it is also in the Development Plan - Sectors

Although the discussion of the health reform in Congress due to the different proposals that have come from parties such as the Democratic Center (opposition) and Cambio Radical, there is a key point of the project that could be approved through the National Development Plan (PND) which continues its course in the Legislature.

(You can also read: Pension reform: proposes four pillars to transform the system)

This is because in the Gustavo Petro government’s road map for the next four years there is an article (number 125) that establishes that The Adres will make the direct transfer of the resources of the Payment Units by Capitation (UPC) of the contributory and subsidized systems, destined to the provision of health services, to the institutions and entities that provide such services.

The fact that the figure of direct transfer is included at the same time in both the National Development Plan and the bill draws the attention of congressmen, who believe that they want to put them behind this aspect of health reform, because otherwise not be approved on one side, they denounce that it would remain on the other.

Also, point out the reduced time there is to approve the Petro roadmap, since the legal maximum is until next May 7. The first debate in the Joint Economic Commissions must be approved in March, then it will have to pass its second round in plenary.

“They are scoring us a goal. I think they want to move from ‘agache’ issues that deserve deep discussions. According to the law, the PND requires approval in three months. This prevents sufficient discussion on issues that, due to their importance and the debate that they generate, can be processed in particular laws. Here, the Government wants to ensure the approval of high points of the health reform, such as the direct transfer of resources from the Directorate to the IPS. We will oppose it in Congress, but the government coalition should also reject those ‘little games’ that they criticized so much in the past”, sentenced the Radical Change Senator David Luna.

And it is that the Government has indicated that one of the fundamental purposes of the reform is to recover the public management of resources and that is precisely that function that is assigned to the Directorate in both projects. Although today the entity collects and collects the bulk of the resources of the General System of Social Security in Health (some 80 billion pesos) and delivers them mostly to the EPS, in the event that any of these projects are approved they would be turned directly to the different clinics, hospitals and other health providers.

According to Anif, the way in which direct business is being contemplated destroys the comprehensive risk management (health and financial) on which the insurance system is based. “We already tried it in Colombia and it was a resounding failure. Two examples confirm this: the recoveries in the General System of Social Security in Health and the special mechanisms”, says the center for economic studies.

(Of interest: What is the first presentation of the National Development Plan about?).

Carolina Corcho, Minister of Health.

In addition to this article, the Plan touches on other issues related to health, such as the fact that the Directorate will have access to national information and the reduction in the payment of health from 12 to 10 percent for pensioners who earn between 2 and 3 minimum wages.

Likewise, the issue of creating a master plan for public investment in health infrastructure and endowment is included, in which the destinations for endowment, equipment and biomedical equipment determined by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection will also be maintained.

“If there is a health reform, the articles will be included there. The Plan must have, and it is included, it is hospital investment, strengthening and the issue of guaranteeing resources for it, ”says Víctor Manuel Salcedo, from the U Party.

(You can read: In 2023, 9 infrastructure projects will be prioritized for more than $14 trillion).

‘This article does not seek or replace the reform’: Jorge Iván González, director of National Planning

Jorge Iván González, director of the DNP.

Photo:

Nestor Gomez. TIME

Why does the PND contemplate that the Directorate be the direct revolver of health resources?
The Adres has already been developing this activity, in this plan what it contemplates is to expand the measure and continue strengthening the capacities of this entity. The strengthening of the ADRES, expanding its scope, is considered necessary to improve the flow of resources within the system and the liquidity of health providers.

Is it trying to put the health reform behind or is it simply a necessary procedure?
The health reform is being developed in another Government proposal, so this article does not seek to replace it or advance its scope. As mentioned, the article seeks to strengthen the flow of resources in the health sector, a task that ADRES has already been developing to guarantee resources to providers.

(Keep reading: The new forces preventing inflation from starting to abate.)

Would the item be removed?
in the Congress of the Republic where the future of this article will be and the Plan was decided, in a democratic discussion that seeks to make Colombia, a World Power of Life, a more just and equitable country.