The National Health Superintendence warned that the debt reported in the Portfolio Monitoring Report of the Colombian Association of Hospitals and Clinics (ACHC) confirms the weaknesses of the health insurance system and the historical concentration of obligations in the lending sector.
The Superintendent Giovanny Rubiano García explained that, with a cut to June 2025, the debts reported by 28 EPS to the Supersalud ascend to $ 12.8 billion. These correspond only to obligations already billed, recognized and pending payment in the financial statements of the insurersnot including New EPS, which has not reported its financial information.
(Read: Government questions viability of alternative presentation for health reform: why?)
The official reiterated that while the EPS report what they recognize as obligations, the lending institutions configure as certain debt the accounts receivable in their financial statements, although these have not been audited by the insurers.
“The differences between what was reported as debts by the EPS to the providers, and reported it as accounts receivable by IPS is a historical constant of the current health model”Rubiano said.
The Superintendent said that, for the first time, the entity is implementing strategies to improve the flow of resources and specify financial traceability. “This Superintendency is implementing strategies that seek to improve the flow of resources, know the traceability of them and identify the financial reality of these entities, through audits to billing and medical accounts and the performance of forensic audits, to establish the origin and final destination of health money”He said.
(See more: Supersalud imposes precautionary measure on the promotion of deficiencies in health care)
The new EPS concentrates more than $ 11 billion in advances for services provided and paid to apply.
Istock
In the case of Nueva EPS, the Supersalud emphasized the need to review all of the more than $ 11 billion that appear as advances. These correspond to services provided and paid that are pending to apply and to the recognition of cupped invoices that are not yet registered. The entity assured that it maintains permanent accompaniment to the EPS in the process of purification and recognition of these invoices.
Additionally, the technical tables of resource flow, the Conciliation Conference through the jurisdictional function delegation and Spaces with territorial entities to purify portfolio and advance payment agreements.
Rubiano indicated that the debt reported by the 227 IPS attached to the ACHC is concentrated in 11 EPS that are under the extent of the Supersalud. These entities group 60% of the population affiliated with the system and, according to the entity, register repeated financial breaches.
(Also read: ACEMI warns a deficit of up to $ 33.4 billion per UPC underestimation)
Eleven EPS under extent concentrate the greatest debt, covering 60 % of the population affiliated with the health system.
Istock
“They are EPS with clear evidence, before and during the intervention, of not complying with financial enabling such as the support of the investment of technical reserves”He said. In addition, he explained that new EPS and Coosalud presented financial statements that did not reflect their economic reality.
The Superintendent called the provider and insurer to strengthen the controls and give greater clarity to the figures, taking as reference sectors such as El Financiero. He also reiterated the instruction to the EPS of Regularize the current turns, legalize the payments of services already provided that still appear as advances in the accounting records and accelerate the purification and reconciliation processes of portfolio.
(See: Debt with clinics and hospitals reached $ 24 billion as of June 2025)
Diana K. Rodríguez T.
Portfolio journalist
