Colombia Plans EPS Credit Line So Health Insurers Can Pay Hospitals
COLOMBIA · HEALTH FINANCE
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, about 53 million people, runs near-universal health cover through regulated insurers called EPS, which pay hospitals and pharmacies for care.
- —The problem Insurers owed providers COP 58 trillion (about US$17.7 billion) at the end of 2025, the comptroller found, and many patients wait for treatment.
- —Why now On 21 September President Abelardo de la Espriella announced a rescue plan for 1.07 million patients waiting for medicines or procedures.
- —What happened On Wednesday 30 September the health ministry published a draft resolution creating a one-time EPS credit line, funded and run by ADRES.
- —The terms Interest equals inflation only, with up to 12 months’ grace and 12 more to repay; ADRES pays hospitals directly.
- —What it means for you If you are insured in Colombia, the loans target medicines and procedures left pending between 1 and 20 September.
- —Still open The total amount and each insurer’s cap. Comments on the draft close on Wednesday 7 October.
Colombia’s health ministry has drafted an EPS credit line that would lend health insurers public money to settle unpaid bills with hospitals and pharmacies. ADRES, the agency that manages the health system’s funds, would run it and pay the providers directly.
The draft resolution was published on Wednesday 30 September and is open for comments until Wednesday 7 October, Semana reported. It turns into rules the debt relief promised in the government’s rescue plan for patients stuck in queues.
How the EPS Credit Line Would Work
ADRES collects and pays out the public money that funds Colombian health care. Under the draft, it would finance the loans from resources it already manages.
The money would not reach the insurers’ own accounts. ADRES would transfer it straight to the hospitals, clinics and suppliers that are owed, El Universal and Semana reported.
The interest rate is set at inflation plus 0%, the trade outlet ConsultorSalud reported, so insurers would pay no real interest. Annual inflation stood at 6.24% in August, according to DANE, the statistics office.
Which Debts Qualify
Only bills for medicines and procedures reported as pending between 1 and 20 September 2026 qualify, Vanguardia reported. Those are the patients counted in the government’s rescue plan.
The care must have been delivered, invoiced and validated with the provider before any money moves. The EPS credit line cannot be used to pay for future services.
Each insurer could draw on the line only once. Requests would be accepted until 31 March 2027 or until the money runs out, ConsultorSalud reported.
Repayment and Safeguards
Insurers would get up to 12 months’ grace, then up to 12 months to repay in monthly instalments. Early repayment would carry no penalty, Semana reported.
Each EPS must sign a promissory note. ADRES could deduct instalments from the UPC, the fixed yearly sum per member that it pays insurers.
Insurers being liquidated by the health regulator, the Supersalud, or leaving the market voluntarily are excluded. If a borrower later enters liquidation, its loan falls due at once, ConsultorSalud reported.
The ministry, ADRES and the Supersalud would monitor the scheme, Infobae reported. The comptroller, the inspector general and the ombudsman would sit in as permanent observers.
The Size of the Hole
The draft sets no total amount and no cap per insurer, leaving both to a later ministry decision. Against the scale of the debt, that gap matters.
Colombia’s insurers owed COP 58 trillion (about US$17.7 billion) at the end of 2025, according to the comptroller’s review. Dollar figures use 3,273.49 pesos to the US dollar, the official rate for 3 to 5 October 2026.
Nueva EPS, the largest insurer with 11.6 million members, owed almost COP 26 trillion (about US$7.9 billion), the comptroller found. Only four of 28 insurers met every financial rule.
Why Patients Are Waiting
The government counted 1,069,196 people waiting for medicines or procedures, under the 21 September rescue plan. More than 700,000 of them were waiting for medicines.
When insurers fall behind on payments, hospitals and pharmacies slow or stop supplies. The EPS credit line is meant to restart that flow for the September backlog.
It runs alongside tougher action against weak insurers, described in Colombia Moves to Liquidate Failing Health Insurers. Insurers in that process cannot borrow.
What the Plan Does Not Fix
The loan is a bridge, not new money for the system, because insurers must repay it from future payments. It leaves the UPC itself unchanged.
In 2025 insurers spent 110% of the money available for patient care, the comptroller found, so the gap is built into the model. A one-time EPS credit line eases the queue but does not close that gap.
What Comes Next
Comments close on Wednesday 7 October. The ministry must then issue the final resolution and set the total amount and each insurer’s share.
After that, ADRES would open the EPS credit line to applications and start paying hospitals. Patients will judge the scheme by one test: whether pending prescriptions are filled.
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What is an EPS in Colombia?
An EPS, or Entidad Promotora de Salud, is a health insurer that receives a fixed yearly sum per member. It then contracts hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to provide care.
What is ADRES?
ADRES is the state agency that administers the money of Colombia’s public health system. It pays insurers and, under this plan, would lend to them and pay hospitals directly.
Does the EPS credit line help foreigners insured in Colombia?
Foreign residents in the public system belong to an EPS like everyone else. If a medicine or procedure of yours was left pending in early September, these loans target exactly those bills.
Sources: Semana, 2 October 2026; ConsultorSalud, October 2026; Vanguardia, 2 October 2026; El Universal, 2 October 2026; Infobae, 2 October 2026; Infobae (DANE inflation), 7 September 2026; Semana (TRM rate), 3 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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