Today the Government approved the health reform after 42 difficult weeks. The project went through extensive debate, with the opposition fruitlessly trying to stop the debate; Government parties, on the other hand, had difficulty getting more than the 94 votes required for the discussion of articles 122, 123 and 128. these were legal in nature and had to be voted on by an absolute majority.
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The session, which lasted more than six hours, was devoted to discussing the last five remaining articles of the initiative (articles 42, 122, 123, 128 and 143), which touch on some of the most controversial points of the project. These included Section 42, which raised alarm about changing the rules of the game in hiring directors of hospitals and clinics in the state.
The first to be approved were the legal articles 122 and 123. These relate to previous consultations and They give President Gustavo Petro the ability to amend the Indigenous and Intercultural Health System (SISPI) to “make regulations having the force of law” agreed upon through prior consultation with communities, in addition to regulating “applicable intercultural health” issues. in the lands of black people, Afro-Colombians, Raizal and Palenquera communities, and Roma people.
In this context, Minister of Internal Affairs Luis Fernando Velasco, who was in the field when the project was approved, assured that they were ready to sue and receive the Law and especially these two sections in the Constitutional Court. He stated that the regulations would still be approved as a precedent for the Victims Law. “Members of Congress, thank you very much. In his statement after the approval of Articles 122 and 123, Velasco said that the Government highly appreciated that vote and the support they gave to the Government.
However, independent representatives such as Alianza Verde’s Katherine Miranda and Catherine Juvinao, who opposed the project, stated that these sections were unconstitutional.
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After this controversial victory, the Government faced a defeat. The proposal of representative Olga Lucía Velásquez from the Green Alliance party allowed the elimination of President Gustavo Petro’s extraordinary powers contained in Article 128. Although there were six faculties in the original presentation, only one faculty was outlined in the agreed project. This allowed the president to activate New EPS.
This point was very important for the Government because in the new system the EPS becomes the Administrator under conditions that few of the existing 28 EPS can meet. These include financial liquidity conditions that could lead to Nueva EPS, with State participation, becoming the largest Manager of the new system.
The opposition tried but failed to stop the debate by delaying it with two proposals from Democratic Center representative Andrés Forero, first demanding a change of the agenda and a second time demanding a complete postponement of the debate. However, both proposals were rejected by the Parliament.
“This matter will definitely go to the Constitutional Court, because we will file a lawsuit against him. We think this project is full of procedural flaws. Forero emphasized that it will be the judges of the Court who will have the final say.
The general assembly also quickly approved Article 143, which established the validity of the rule. Finally, the most discussed article was Article 42 and it was voted down without amendment.
In principle, on 15 November speaker Alfredo Mondragón proposed changes to the article, but following complaints that these changes would encourage corruption and were a way of providing ‘squeeze’ to some representatives of the Liberal party, it was described as follows: it would be approved as presented without the proposed changes.
Thus, the last discussed article of the project, 42, was rejected with 53 votes in favor and 66 votes in no. This last submission article was followed by 75 new article proposals left on record for discussion by the Senate’s Seventh Committee, where the project will be discussed next year following its approval tonight, December 5.
EDWIN CAICEDO | HEALTH UNIT EDITOR
@CAICEDOUCROS | @HEALTH
Source: Exame
