Colombia’s health care crisis has escalated into what many families and patient advocates describe as a national emergency, marked by shortages of essential medicines, delays in treatment authorizations, hospital service closures, and mounting pressure on both public and private providers. Jose Manuel Restrepo, vice-presidential running mate of presidential candidate Abelardo de La Espriella, called the situation “a matter of life or death” and warned that the suffering is already widespread
In an interview with ColombiaOne, Restrepo said: “When that question is asked, I immediately answer: For me, the most important concern in the country is health,” Restrepo said. “Because it is a life-or-death issue. We are in the middle of a humanitarian crisis.”
Colombia’s health crisis grows amid drug shortages and system strain
Colombia’s modern health system was built under Law 100 of 1993, which expanded coverage through a mixed model involving the state, private insurers known as EPS (Entidades Promotoras de Salud, in Spanish), and service providers known as IPS.
While the model significantly increased insurance coverage over the decades, experts have long warned that financial mismanagement, bureaucratic delays, and uneven access to services created deep structural vulnerabilities.
In recent months, those vulnerabilities have intensified. Reports from Colombian media and patient organizations have highlighted repeated shortages of high-demand medicines for chronic and rare diseases, including cancer therapies, clotting factors, insulin, and cardiovascular drugs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has consistently stated that access to essential medicines is a core pillar of public health and a key component of the right to health. When medicines become unavailable, preventable deaths can rise quickly — particularly among children and patients with chronic illnesses.
The story of Kevin Acosta: a child who needed medicine that never arrived
“Many families are suffering,” he said. “The family of Jeisson Pinzon, the family of Kevin Acosta are suffering because their children lost their lives as a result of not having access to a medication that would have transformed their story.”
One of the most heartbreaking cases cited by Restrepo is that of Kevin Acosta, a Colombian boy whose family publicly denounced delays and barriers to accessing medication considered essential for his survival.
Kevin suffered from a serious medical condition that required timely pharmaceutical treatment. According to reporting from Colombian outlets, his family struggled for weeks to obtain the required medication through the administrative channels of the health system.
The drug delays allegedly worsened his condition and left doctors unable to intervene effectively when complications emerged.
The family’s tragedy resonated across social media and news broadcasts because it reflected a growing fear among Colombians: That even with insurance coverage, access to treatment is not guaranteed.
“This is happening to thousands of people in the last year,” Jose Manuel Restrepo said. “When that happens, for me, that must be the fundamental problem.”
Jeisson Pinzon: a young life lost amid delays and failed treatment access
Restrepo also mentioned the family of Jeisson Pinzon, another case that has drawn public attention as an example of how health care delays can become fatal.
Pinzon reportedly faced obstacles in obtaining medicines and specialist treatment during a critical period of illness. While details of his medical history have varied in public reporting, his family has been cited as part of a broader pattern of patients waiting too long for medication approvals, specialist referrals, or hospital transfers.
In Colombia, patients can file a “tutela,” a constitutional legal action designed to protect fundamental rights — including the right to health. However, health experts have warned that the growing number of tutelas is itself evidence of a system failing to deliver timely care without judicial pressure.
Hospital closures, overwhelmed services, and public frustration
Beyond medicine shortages, Colombia has also faced warnings about hospital service reductions and financial crises among providers. Clinics and hospitals have reported delayed payments and mounting debt, leading to fewer available appointments, reduced specialist coverage, and closures of certain units in high-demand regions. Restrepo claimed the situation is hitting Colombians at every level.
“This issue hits Colombians very hard,” he said. “It hits families very hard, families who see hospital services closing, and nearly 90% of Colombians who do not have complete access to medications.”
Although the exact percentage is debated, Colombia’s Ombudsman Office (Defensoria del Pueblo) and health sector analysts have repeatedly warned that access barriers are increasing and that citizens are reporting worsening service quality.
Health reform debate intensifies ahead of elections
The crisis has become a major political issue, especially as Colombia debates health reforms promoted by President Gustavo Petro’s administration.
Petro and his allies argue that the EPS model has enabled corruption and inefficiency, while critics claim that reforms could destabilize an already strained system. Restrepo positioned himself as a candidate calling for both immediate action and long-term restructuring.
“There has to be a short-term bet, where we already have clarity, and a long-term bet,” Restrepo said. “But it must be mediated by the ability to bring together all actors in the system: patients, academia, IPS, EPS, and the public sector.”
A ‘life-or-death’ crisis with human faces
While political leaders argue over models and financing, families such as those of Kevin Acosta and Jeisson Pinzon remain at the center of public outrage. Their stories reflect a painful reality: When the health system fails to deliver medicine on time, the consequences can be irreversible. For Restrepo, the issue outweighs even insecurity and economic instability.
“Yes, there are other problems — security, public finances, growth,” he said. “But health is the one that hits Colombians the hardest.”
As Colombia moves deeper into an election season, the health crisis is likely to remain one of the most decisive national debates — because for thousands of families, it is not merely a policy issue, but a question of survival.
10 Trillion Pesos to Start Solving the Problem
“We see a short-term problem of around 10 trillion Colombian pesos (about US$2.7 billion), and it will be necessary to thoroughly review the wrong decisions that were made, such as incorporating into the UPC (Capitation Payment Unit) costs that ultimately became state bureaucracy within the health sector,” he said.
For example, the so-called basic medical teams, which have become almost clientelist in nature, or resources that were supposedly allocated to build health infrastructure but ended up bureaucratized — or in scenarios of corruption — or delayed due to inefficiency in how those resources were assigned. “That cannot be the path forward. We cannot inject political patronage into health care resources,” he said.
Restrepo adds that part of the solution could also come from higher levels of administrative efficiency within the system, because some entities operate with administrative costs “equal to 7% of revenue, while others are at 10%.”
“I believe the system must be made more efficient. At the same time, we must demand accountability from EPS, with defined deadlines, permanent oversight, and accountability for delays in specialized care services,” Restrepo says.
According to De la Espriella’s running mate, there must be a follow-up on scheduled surgeries that are moving too slowly or have not been assigned. “That cannot happen, because it is the citizen who ends up losing.”
In the short term, there are sources of funding available, in addition to some resources within ADRES that are currently misdirected and poorly managed, says Restrepo.
An outstanding debt from the past
But beyond that, in the medium and long term, there is still an outstanding debt from the past, “which I estimate at around 40 trillion pesos (about US$11 billion). This will require major efforts, including measures that this government had proposed but was never able to implement—such as primary health care centers focused on promotion and prevention.”
These centers, especially those meant to serve rural areas, must be strengthened because many people in rural zones still have no access to the health system.
“We also need to review the progressivity of public and private spending, make a strong push for data analytics technology applied to the health sector, and confront corruption through our anti-corruption bloc, which has been Abelardo’s proposal to fight corruption with participation from all institutions, led by the President of the Republic.”
And he said: “I believe we must continue moving forward toward higher levels of efficiency in how resources are allocated to the system, properly targeting spending. This is ongoing work that must continue from now on.”
For Restrepo, there is a way to do this: “What is needed is the political will to make the decisions that must be made in this area. I believe there is still a path ahead.”