Health Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo submitted the new health reform to the House of Representatives. However, he clarified that it is the same reform already known, only much more compact. The text has only 48 articles.
“There is no new bill here. The only thing that is happening here is that the bill that was submitted a year and a half ago is being continued. What we are going to do is continue to insist on the reform.”, Jaramillo said, adding: “We have reduced the articles and we have agreed so that they can be issued without any inconvenience through decree resolutions, which is essential for everyone.”.
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Regarding the financial viability of the reform, the official noted that Yes, there is an endorsement from the Ministry of Finance: “Yes, there is the financial endorsement. Maybe that is why there was a bit of a delay in filing, because we were looking at it in detail. But we do have the financial endorsement, and there was also something we needed, the endorsement of the presidency.”
Besides, He added that the delay was due to the need to present a reform that would level the use of economic resources.“The important thing here is that to have financial backing you have to show resources and expenses. And that is what we have already managed to balance. It is already balanced according to the income and expenses that the fiscal framework will have in the short and long term,” he said.
Key points of the reform
Health reform
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One of the key points It is the creation of the National Health Council, stipulated in article 5. “As the governing body of the Health System, attached to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection“, the document reads.
According to the text, this Council will be made up of six representatives of the National Government, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, who will preside over it; the Minister of Finance and Public Credit; the Minister of Labor; the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development; the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the director of National Planning and a representative of the territorial governments.
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“The National Health Superintendent and the director of the Health System Resources Administrator – Adres will be part of the National Health Council with voice but no vote. In turn, the National Health Council may invite institutions and natural or legal persons that it considers relevant,” the text states.
Other key points are:
1. Transformation of EPS into Health and Life Managers: EPSs will become public, private or mixed entities, responsible for coordinating health care and articulating the network of services.
2. Creation of Comprehensive and Integrated Territorial Health Networks (RIITS): Health service networks will be organized that integrate primary care with medium and high complexity services.
3. Financing through a Single Public Health Fund: The system’s resources will be centralized in a single fund. Primary care financing will be based on a capitation payment model, adjusted for health risks and socioeconomic conditions.
4. Strengthening primary care: Primary Health Care Centres (CAPS) will be created as a gateway to the system, responsible for providing comprehensive care to the population in their territory. Territorial health teams will be formed to provide care in rural and dispersed areas.
5. Formalization of employment and improvement of working conditions for health care workers: Direct employment of health workers will be guaranteed and a special employment regime will be established for public servants in the sector.
If the reform is accepted, it will be implemented gradually to ensure the well-being and access to health care for citizens without any setbacks.
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