Hospital San Jorge in Pereira faces financial crisis over unpaid EPS claims

The University Hospital San Jorge in Pereira issued an urgent appeal to Colombia's Ministry of Health, the Superintendency of Health and other regulators to convene a technical table with the health insurers (EPS) and control agencies. The hospital warns that delayed and missed payments by intervened EPS – Nueva EPS, Coosalud EPS and Pijao Salud – have created a severe liquidity shortfall, threatening the continuity of essential health services.

For 2025 the hospital billed 281.07 billion Colombian pesos but collected only 208.67 billion, leaving a gap of 72.4 billion. Outstanding receivables total 193.57 billion, of which 52.60 billion (27.2%) are overdue by more than 360 days. The deficit has forced the hospital to adopt austerity measures and raises the risk of delays, re‑programming or partial suspension of scheduled surgeries, ambulatory care and other non‑urgent procedures. Hospital director Javier (Juan Carlos) Gaviria Murillo called on Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo and Superintendent Daniel Quintero to act swiftly to restore payment flows and safeguard patient care.