Colombia’s finance chief and other senior officials criticized their own government’s plans to overhaul the health care system, revealing a breach in the top ranks of President Gustavo Petro’s administration as it pursues an ambitious reform agenda during its first year in office.
(Bloomberg) — Colombia’s finance chief and other senior officials criticized their own government’s plans to overhaul the health care system, revealing a breach in the top ranks of President Gustavo Petro’s administration as it pursues an ambitious reform agenda during its first year in office.
The ministers of agriculture, education and the head of the national planning department, as well as Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, warned in a letter to the health minister that the cost of the measures will have significant fiscal costs not estimated in the bill. Petro confirmed on Twitter that the letter, which had been leaked to local media, was genuine.
The split will likely make it harder for Petro to pass his other reforms to Colombia’s welfare provision this year, including his plans to increase the role of the state in the pension system, and increase employee labor rights.
“With all of these difficulties, Petro is burning a lot of political capital,” said Andres Mejia, a political consultant who teaches at the business school of Bogota’s Los Andes University. “If this process ends up very battered, the other reforms will also be very battered.”
The ministers who signed the letter, particularly Ocampo, are viewed by many investors as a moderating influence on the government’s more zealous members. The disagreements over the health bill increases the risk that this group may eventually find it impossible to remain in the government, he said.
Petro’s proposals sent to congress this month seek to slash the role of private health insurers and make the government the main manager of the $15 billion-a-year health system. The authors of the letter estimate that the health care reform will cost 16.9 trillion pesos ($3.5 billion) this year, rising to 21.9 trillion pesos in 2024.
Petro said via Twitter that these estimates include costs that would have to be paid with or without the reform, such as the provision of treatment for foreigners and the payment of hospital debts.
Read more: Petro’s Overhaul of Colombian Welfare State Faces First Big Test
If Petro can get the bill through, it will strengthen his position as he seeks to pass his pension system and labor bills ahead of local elections in October. A defeat, on the other hand, would weaken seven-month-old government, undermining its chances of getting the other reforms through.
–With assistance from Oscar Medina.
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