The Thinking Center This is how we go in health published the fifth bulletin of the Financial Observatory, an analysis of the financial health of the Health Promotion Companies (EPS) in Colombia at the end of the second quarter of 2024.
Broadly speaking, this report shows a worrying increase in the equity deficit of the health system by 125%, in particular, within the subsidized regime, this without taking into account the New EPS since this information is lacking, something important to take into account since as of the first quarter they had 22.8% of the country’s affiliates and represented 23.9% of the income and operations of 2023.
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Among the results of the report it is evident that the negative assets of the health system have deepened by more than 125% in the last year, reaching $6.1 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, going from $2.73 billion with a cut to the same period of 2023.
The group of entities that at the end of 2023 showed positive equity are those that are authorized to operate in both regimes and are Nueva EPS, Coosalud and Mutual Ser, in the second half of 2024 the same can be observed for Coosalud and Mutual Ser with a positive equity of $307,000 million, but “By not knowing the information about Nueva EPS in the financial catalogues, it is not possible to establish it,” the report states.
“These losses, which represent a significant increase compared to the same period last year, are a reflection of the lack of financial coverage for medical and operational costs,” they argue.
In what has to do with assets, for the second quarter of 2023 the EPS had $21.7 billion recorded, while for the same period a year later, this decreased to $16.6 billion, which represents a drop of 30.7%. In liabilities, debts went from $24.4 billion to $22.7 billion.
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EPS Sanitas
César Melgarejo / Portfolio
Regarding the operational result, There is a loss of $1.92 billion, this is an increase of 53.6% compared to the second three months of 2023.in which losses of $1.2 billion were reported. Of the total, in the contributory regime the losses correspond to $1.3 trillion, which represents 67.7% of the total losses.
“Operational losses in the subsidized regime are 543 billion pesos and 79 billion pesos for the EPS group that operates in both regimes. If the results in the same period of 2023 (second quarter) are taken into account, the operating result was negative for said year, in the order of 1.2 trillion pesos”, they add.
Furthermore, as of the second quarter of 2024, 50.2% of the losses in the operational result are in the EPS group under special surveillance or intervention measure, “highlighting the need for urgent interventions”, they explain.
Regarding the result of the year, understood as closing of income, expenses and costs, which includes operational income and those derived from financial and other returns (total income), there is a result of $1.08 trillion, meanwhile in the same period for the period 2023 was $227,000 million. Of the total loss in the result for the year, 71% is concentrated in entities that are under special surveillance or intervention measures.
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New EPS
Luis Lizarazo García. EL TIEMPO Archive
Entities under special surveillance or intervention measure represent 50.2% of operating losses during the first half of 2024, therefore, they underline the importance of immediate intervention.
“These entities have demonstrated a level of accidents greater than 100%, which implies that their operating income does not cover medical and administrative costs, exacerbating the equity deficit. Así Vamos en Salud calls on the actors of the system and the regulators to take actions to restore the financial sustainability of the sector,” they add.
Finally, they highlight that given the scale of the deficit and the implications for the quality of care, they raise the need to rethink the financial and operational model of the EPS, especially those that manage the subsidized regime. “This newsletter seeks not only to report on the current situation, but also to promote debate and the implementation of policies that can ensure the sustainability of the health system in Colombia,” they close
PAULA GALEANO BALAGUERA
Portfolio Journalist
