Insurance company Sura withdraws from Colombia’s health system as government pushes for control

By MANUEL RUEDA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian insurance company Sura has announced that it will withdraw from the nation’s health system because the resources it receives from Colombia’s government to manage more than 5 million patients, are not enough to cover its growing costs. Opposition leaders in Colombia regretted the company’s decision and accused the nation’s first left wing government of trying to push private insurers out of the health care market. Under Colombia’s current health system, the nation’s government sets rates for health insurance payments, using a formula that depends largely on a person’s monthly income.