Health sets limits and deadlines to purchase the portfolio of earthquake-affected clinics

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has established the conditions, limits, and deadlines for the exceptional portfolio purchase that ADRES will carry out in favor of clinics and hospitals affected by the earthquake of August 10, 2026. This was done through Resolution 002616 of 2026, dated November 13, signed by Minister Ana María Vesga Gaviria and published on the same day in Official Gazette number 53,689.

The mechanism is based on Article 6 of Legislative Decree 1415 of 2026, which authorized ADRES to allocate the resources it manages and which form a single treasury for up to twelve months to portfolio purchase operations, within the framework of the state of emergency declared by Decree 1261 of 2026 and modified by Decree 1348 of 2026. The resolution implements Article 9 of Law 1608 of 2013 and Article 2.5.2.2.2.10 of Decree 780 of 2016, which empower that ministerial portfolio to define terms, conditions, deadlines, rates, and guarantees.

The purchase does not extinguish the debt: it generates liquidity for the providers through the payment of recognized and reconciled obligations, while the EPS retains the reimbursement obligation to ADRES. EPSs that, at the time of requesting the operation, are under forced intervention for liquidation or in voluntary liquidation are excluded.

Who can access and under what caps

EPSs with portfolios in favor of providers that prove at least one of these conditions may submit requests:

• Having suffered damage to their infrastructure or service delivery capacity due to the earthquake of August 10, 2026.
• Having treated the population affected by the earthquake.
• Having received affiliates hospitalized in an affected IPS who had to be referred to guarantee continuity of care, a condition certified by the legal representative of the EPS.

There are four financial limits: the maximum value per provider cannot exceed ten percent (10%) of the total amount allocated by the Ministry; the minimum per request is twenty million pesos ($20,000,000); the accumulated amount originating from obligations of a single EPS cannot exceed 10% of the estimated annual value of UPC recognitions in the contributory regime and 8% in the subsidized regime; and the concentration cap per EPS is 20% of the total resources of the operation.

The portfolio must be reconciled, with invoices at least sixty days old, without pending disputes (glosas), without previous purchases or financing, free of liens, assignments, or factoring, and not paid by other sources. Each EPS may submit a single request per provider, which must be enabled in the REPS. The regulation expressly prohibits EPSs from demanding discounts or waivers as a condition for filing.

Verification, reconciliation act, and direct transfer

ADRES will verify the damages using information from the Ministry’s Infrastructure and Equipment Directorate, the ERES file, certifications from territorial entities, and the UNGRD’s Single Registry of Victims, cross-referenced with the FEV-RIPS. The process requires a conciliation agreement signed by the legal representatives of the EPS and the provider, including a detailed list of invoices and dates.

If the eligible portfolio exceeds the available resources, ADRES will distribute them proportionally, redistribute balances, and prioritize the oldest obligations. The Portfolio Purchase Advisory Committee, created by Resolution 4524 of 2017, issues the recommendation; subsequently, ADRES authorizes it via administrative act and transfers the funds directly to the provider. Incomplete requests are returned once for correction and, if not corrected, are denied with a right to a motion for reconsideration.

Twelve months, IBR minus two points, and promissory note

EPS will have a maximum term of twelve (12) months, counted from the disbursement, to pay, with the possibility of a three-month grace period on the principal. The rate will be two percentage points lower than the effective annual twelve-month IBR in force at the time of disbursement and in no case less than zero. Non-compliance generates default interest at the DIAN rate, and ADRES may deduct the installments from the compensation and from the Monthly Affiliates Settlement, backed by a promissory note and an irrevocable authorization from the EPS.

The National Superintendency of Health exercises inspection, surveillance, and control over the accounting records of the operations, while ADRES will monitor the disbursed resources and their recovery. The resolution takes effect from its publication, and the allocation of single-box resources is subject to the maximum term of twelve months established in the legislative decree.

The scope of the measure is twofold: it unlocks the cash flow of clinics and hospitals left with backlogged accounts receivable after the earthquake, but at the same time compromises the future payment capacity of the EPS, which assume a twelve-month debt with ADRES with automatic deductions from their UPC transfers. With caps of 10% per provider and 20% per EPS, the Ministry limits the fiscal risk, although it leaves the final allocation subject to the amount determined according to the availability of resources.

Source: Official Gazette, number 53,689, Friday, November 13, 2026, section I, pp. 32-34 (official reference: Resolution 002616 of 2026).