Why Colombia’s Excellent Health Care Is No Surprise
Did you know that World Health Organization ranks Colombia’s health care system #22 in the world, ahead of countries like the United States (#37), Canada (#30), Australia (#33) and Germany (#25)?
This not only makes it the Americas’ highest ranked country in the list, but also emphasizes that economic supremacy and good health care not necessarily go hand in hand. Moreover, when Latin America’s leading financial publication América Economía put together their latest annual list of the top 43 hospitals in the region, 22 of those hospitals were based in Colombia. Of these 22 hospitals, five are Joint Commission International accredited, which is the gold standard in world health.
But what are the reasons why Colombia’s health system stands out from the rest?
A strong boost are certainly the ambitious health projects, especially in the more populous cities like Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena and Barranquilla. Looking to the paradisiacal port city Cartagena on the Caribbean coast of Colombia for instance, you come across an impressive area called Cartagena Medical City. The complex offers a high-tech hospital, medical offices, a medical research center, a business service center, a medical mall for fairs and exhibitions, a five star hotel and even upscale restaurants taking into account the special diets of patients — all in one place. Cartagena Medical City also gains a competitive advantage from the government since it has been declared a permanent free zone by Colombian import/export taxing authority DIAN.
Another impressive project is the Torre Médica, a medical tower integrated into a premium shopping mall called El Tesoro in Medellín, located in a mountain valley in Colombia’s Antioquia region. With the objective to offer everything health-related in one single place, the medical tower offers 140 medical offices with 58 fields of specializations and sub-specializations, which places the complex at the forefront of world-wide health services with its wide and diverse offer of consultation. Torre Médica’s integral approach also reveals the amenities of easy access, parking and commercial offer, an excellent airport connectivity, gastronomy, entertainment, events, a five star hotel and banking services. As a result of the medical tower’s success, Torre Médica 2 is now being built, seeking to strengthen a complete health cluster with quality medical offer in Medellín.
Projects like these are not started blindly — the demand for Colombian medical quality is strong. Medellín’s Torre Médica, for example, sees 7,000 patients every day. Moreover, it’s the excellent quality that makes Colombia’s health care superior. Capital city Bogotá has a global recognition for its health offer in cardiology, while in Medellín specialities include laser eye surgery, cosmetic surgery and dentistry. Eight of the mentioned top 42 hospitals and clinics are located in Medellín, alone.
“Maradona’s bariatric surgery which costs between $30,000 and $40,000 dollars in the USA can be achieved in Colombia for $10,000”.
This high quality care, however, comes at a fraction of the cost of what you would have to expect in other countries. Excellent dentist care beginning from a simple ultrasonic cleaning, a whitening or more complex procedures such as implants, root canals, crowns and orthodontics can often be calculated with prices of one-quarter of what you would spend for those services in the United States. According to Francisco Holguin, scientific director of Cartagena Medical City, the bariatric surgery that former Argentinian soccer player Diego Armando Maradona underwent in Cartagena in 2005 to control obesity can be achieved for $10,000 in Colombia. In the United States, for instance, prices between $30,000 and $40,000 need to be expected for the same procedure.
Colombia’s health care also does not come off badly in terms of accessibility. Its new constitution in 1993 made health care a basic right for both all citizens and foreigners. The Colombian health care is a dual system and has one public and many private health insurance plans. To qualify for the public plan, which is called EPS, you must have a resident identity card (cédula). If you’re a retiree, the premium cost is 12% of your pension. By law, everyone in Colombia must have the same basic coverage. This includes medical, dental and vision care and serves as a foundation for everyone. The system works like building blocks — if you want additional services, you can purchase a premium policy. According to the Colombian Ministry of Health, almost 98% of the population has insurance, which is also due to SISBEN, a free government subsidized health care system for economically disadvantaged or homeless Colombians. To be compared with health insurance coverage in the United States, for instance, only 91.2% of the people have insurance according to 2017’s Census.gov report.
Therefore, it should be noted that it is definitely worth keeping an eye on health system developments in countries such as Colombia, since it can also be worthwhile for foreigners who find it difficult to access good health care in their country.
