New Ministry of Health regulations: now the 'shu, shu, shu' would reach the IPS
Decree 0182 redefines territorial habilitation of EPS in 2026. Photo: iStock
TL;DR
- Decree 0182 regulates territorial and population-focused insurance operations in Colombia, establishing mechanisms for EPS territorial limitation and mandatory affiliate assignment.
- The decree risks the continuity of services and treatments for at least 6.5 million affiliates, with concerns about transferring users to intervened EPS lacking operational capacity.
- Industry associations like Acemi and Unips highlight potential negative impacts, including increased user loads for struggling EPS and reduced market access for private IPS.
- Legal experts question the decree's legality, arguing that significant operational changes should be enacted through law, not decree, and that it infringes on economic freedom and free competition.
- Healthcare providers (IPS) are concerned about a mandate requiring at least 60% of subsidized and public EPS spending to be contracted with public hospitals, potentially limiting private IPS contracts.
- Circular 003 of 2026 aims to prioritize payments to public hospitals by intervened EPS, but IPS associations argue for equitable payment across the entire public and private provider network.
- Critics fear the decree will disproportionately affect patients, especially those with chronic, high-cost, or rare diseases, who may not receive adequate care in newly assigned EPS.
- There are concerns that the state's higher per-capita payment to public hospitals ($40,000) compared to private ones (under $17,000) will create further imbalances in the sector.