Nueva EPS announced the immediate activation of a network of pharmaceutical managers to ensure medicine delivery to its affiliates, following Colsubsidio's exit as operator starting January 1, 2026. This measure affects 1.6 million users in 11 departments across the country. The entity aims to prevent interruptions in medical treatments during the transition.
Nueva EPS, one of Colombia's main health promotion entities, responded to the termination of contracts with Colsubsidio by implementing a contingency plan. Colsubsidio will suspend medicine dispensing for Nueva EPS affiliates at all its attention points nationwide starting January 1, 2026, though deliveries will continue normally until December 31, 2025.
According to Nueva EPS's announcement, the new pharmaceutical managers will be Cafam, Medic, Discolmets, Audifarma, Farmedicall, and Tododrogas. These operators will take over responsibility in the departments where Colsubsidio had active contracts, including Cundinamarca and Bogotá, Antioquia and Medellín, Valle del Cauca, Quindío, Huila, Tolima, Boyacá, Caquetá, Casanare, and Meta. The measure directly impacts 1.6 million affiliates in these regions.
The entity emphasized that this network aims not only to address the immediate contingency but also to strengthen the pharmaceutical system, make it more sustainable, and reduce dependency on a single manager. Under the leadership of Dr. Luis Óscar Galves Mateus, Nueva EPS is working to minimize the impact on treatments. In some municipalities, multiple operators will be assigned to meet logistical demands based on population and territory.
However, the transition raises concerns. While Nueva EPS claims to have activated the network immediately, reports indicate that it has not yet been fully defined who will handle deliveries from January, alarming patients with chronic illnesses. Presidential precandidate Juan Manuel Galán criticized the situation on X, questioning the planning: “They are not few patients: they are thousands of people in uncertainty. Where is the planning, where is the responsibility?”. Galán recalled that over two thousand patients with rare diseases have died in recent years waiting for medicines, insisting that “you don't improvise with health”.
Nueva EPS stated that the network of managers will be adjusted progressively to ensure timely and equitable access to medicines. The Health Superintendency reiterated that the EPS continues without registering its financial statements, adding tension to the context.