Health insurance companies (EPS) in the Colombian capital Bogota are actively trying to avoid paying hospitals, the city’s ombudsman said Monday.
According to the controlling body, the not paying of the security companies’ debts to hospitals has generated the progressive collapse of Bogota’s hospital system. While these debts remain unpaid, hospitals do not have the means to pay their suppliers and contractors.
The Ombudsman’s Office has asked the Colombian Solidarity and Guarantee Fund (FOSYGA) to pay $6.7 million to district hospitals for immediate care for traffic accidents and catastrophic events relief.
At the same time Colombia’s Medical Federation discovered that the more than $2.5 billion the EPS owes to the entire country’s hospital system could not be cancelled as health service companies have warned that they cannot repay the debt.
In response Colombia’s Ministry of Social Welfare was called-in to prevent EPS evasions and to provide transparency.
Colombian health insurance companies came under scrutiny earlier this year after reports that the companies had embezzled billions of dollars.
