The Administrative Court of Antioquia issued a precautionary measure against Decree 182 of 2026, which planned to transfer more than six million affiliates to Nueva EPS. The judge found that the regulation would create a high concentration of users and endanger their freedom of choice. The government was ordered to refrain from implementing it until the underlying controversy is resolved.
The Administrative Court of Antioquia suspended Decree 182 of 2026 issued by the Ministry of Health, which sought to reorganize the health system by transferring more than six million users to Nueva EPS. This measure would leave the entity as the sole operator in 427 municipalities across the country.
The judge determined there is a "methodological insufficiency that prevents demonstrating the suitability of the health system redesign to preserve and not compromise the effective enjoyment of collective rights." He argued that implementing the transfer without verifying Nueva EPS's attention capacity could lead to a service collapse and "catastrophic outcomes that could mean widespread and potentially irreparable harm."
Therefore, the court adopted precautionary measures to prevent imminent and irreparable harm, as provided by the legal framework in popular actions. It ordered the Government, led by the Ministry of Health and the National Superintendence of Health, to refrain from materializing the decree's provisions until the controversy is resolved on the merits.
The judge reiterated: "If the prior measure is not adopted, the risk materializes, and if granted, it provisionally preserves the purpose of the process, making it more burdensome to deny the measure than to grant it." This decision addresses alerts regarding the risks of the reorganization proposed by the Government.
