Colombian presidential candidates outline plans to address health system crisis

In the run‑up to Colombia’s presidential election, all major candidates acknowledge a deepening health‑system crisis marked by financing shortfalls, medication shortages, mounting hospital debts and deteriorating care quality. The proposals vary:

Claudia López calls for a rescue fund financed through public debt to clear overdue hospital liabilities, a recalibrated unit price basket (UPC) and a shift toward a mixed model with stronger state oversight and reduced EPS‑IPS integration. Sergio Fajardo favours retaining the current insurance scheme but with tighter EPS controls, independent audits and a reform focused on financial sustainability and primary‑care strengthening. Abelardo de la Espriella defends Law 100, promising enhanced monitoring and a “responsible transition” to address liquidity and corruption issues. Paloma Valencia seeks to keep EPS structures, return the New EPS to the private sector and boost technical audits of medicines and technologies. Iván Cepeda pushes for a more structural overhaul: reinforcing ADRES as the main payer, cutting intermediaries and moving toward a more state‑run, universal system.

Experts warn that most plans simply aim to “inject resources,” while the true debt may exceed 30 trillion Colombian pesos, and that funding alone will not resolve logistical, institutional and fiscal sustainability challenges.