health
May 5, 2026
“We cannot go back to depending on legal injunctions”: President of the Supreme Court admonishes the Government over health crisis
Amidst the growing deterioration of the healthcare system and government decisions that have generated uncertainty in the provision of services, the Supreme Court of Justice warned that legal injunctions (tutelas) to access healthcare cannot become the rule again. The pronouncement was made by the president of the high court, Iván Mauricio Lenis, who recalled that thousands of citizens are resorting to tutelas to obtain medications, surgeries, and treatments that should be directly guaranteed by the system.
TL;DR
- The Supreme Court of Justice warned that legal injunctions (tutelas) for healthcare access cannot become the norm again.
- Thousands of citizens are using tutelas to obtain medications, surgeries, and treatments due to failures in the healthcare system.
- The number of health-related tutelas has significantly increased, with 312,567 filed in 2025, a 17.9% rise from 2024.
- Cases of patients dying while awaiting medication or treatment, like Kevin Acosta and Cecilia Quintero, exemplify the crisis.
- The court urges the government to guarantee effective healthcare access directly, regardless of political discussions or reforms.
- The judiciary should not bear the burden of the healthcare system's failures.