Colombian Health Crisis Exposes the Danger of Financialized Medicine—A Warning for America

In Bogotá's historic Plaza de Bolívar, Colombian President Gustavo Petro dismissed mounting evidence of a healthcare crisis as mere "chaos" attributed to private companies rather than systemic failure. Yet, beneath his reassurances lies a stark reality: patients face critical shortages of essential medicines and interrupted treatments due to the financial insolvency of Colombia's private health insurers—the Entidades Promotoras de Salud (EPS). Who Pays When Profit Comes Before Patients? Since the enactment of Colombia's Ley 100 in 1993, which transformed healthcare into a commodity governed by financial intermediaries, access to affordable and reliable medical care has become increasingly elusive for ordinary...