EPS is the government health insurance in Colombia that is available to everyone with a cedula (local ID), Colombian citizens as well as foreigners with a visa and cedula.
The EPS health insurance in Colombia is available to everyone who is a resident, including people that are not eligible for private health insurance due to age or pre-existing conditions.
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EPS Health Insurance in Colombia
In an EPS plan, the delivery of services is through a network of public health providers/facilities. Keep in mind that the EPS plans cover everyone. So, it means longer waiting times to see doctors and receive medical care. Also, EPS plans include dental insurance.
In addition, to see a specialist, run diagnostic exams like blood tests or x-rays or to get a surgical procedure, with an EPS plan you will need a referral from your general practitioner.
Also, family members and dependents can be added to an EPS plan. These include:
In an EPS plan you will be assigned an IPS (Instituto Prestador de Salud), which is basically a health center, which will be your primary care location.
In addition, one thing to be careful with is that some of the EPS providers in Colombia aren’t in great financial shape. So, they are slow in paying medical providers leaving thousands of Colombians without health care services.
For example, Saludcoop EPS was in financial problems and was liquidated in 2016 and moved to the Cafesalud EPS
We recommend EPS Suramericana (EPS SURA), which is typically ranked as the number one EPS in Colombia.
More About Grupo SURA
Grupo SURA is Colombian company based in Medellín that was started in 1944. Grupo SURA is a multinational company that does business in Colombia and several other countries in Latin America.
In addition, Grupo SURA is part of Grupo Empresarial Antioqueño also known as Sindicato Antioqueño, which is a large Colombian conglomerate composed of about 125 companies including owning a large percentage of shares in Bancolombia, Grupo Nutresa and Grupo Argos.
SURA’s primary businesses are health insurance, life insurance, investment banking and asset management. Also, SURA reportedly has over 4,600 doctors and over 400 hospitals and medical centers in their network.
How to Sign Up for SURA Health Insurance
It is possible to sign up for SURA health insurance yourself. But the forms are in Spanish and can be complicated and difficult for foreigners who don’t speak Spanish.
So, we recommend working with an insurance agent who is bilingual. The insurance agent we partnered with offers a service to help expats sign up for SURA EPS.
Medellin Guru Insurance Service
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The Bottom Line: Sign up for SURA EPS Insurance - A Service for Expats in Colombia
In Colombia, it is possible to have access to world-class healthcare at a fraction of the cost compared to healthcare costs in North America or Europe.
Health insurance is also relatively inexpensive in Colombia in comparison to health insurance costs in the U.S. and many countries in Europe. In addition, it’s fairly easy for a foreigner to sign up for health insurance in Colombia.
Also, “How to sign up with Colombian Health insurance?” is a common question asked by expats moving to Colombia. So, we included this question in our list of Medellín frequently asked questions (FAQ).
Many Medellin Guru readers have obtained insurance in Colombia through our insurance agent partnership including health insurance, auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance and travel insurance.
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6 thoughts on “Sign up for SURA EPS Insurance: A Service for Expats in Colombia”
It was a prolonged bureaucratic torment. By the time I got signed up for EPS I was ready to go postal. This was last year. From start to finish it took three months and everything to do with customer service went further down hill after that. The right hand had no earthly idea what the left hand was doing. I was shuffled from location to location and the lines were out the door and down the street. I finally figured out how to cancel it and get the H-E double hockey sticks out of there. I met all the qualifications for the Covid vaccination and I wanted that vaccination. But after taking a taxi ride to the 3rd building I was told that they would let me know. I heard nothing so that’s when I dumped it. It was not SURA.
I told all this to a guy in our building who said that SURA was vaccinatiing patients within walking distance from my front door so I went there. The intake staff asked me if I was a member of SURA and I said no. The lady in charge apparently took pity on me and waived me right in the door. I reckon there musta been a thousand people in there getting the jab but I was in and out in about an hour. Very organized, quite professional. Needless to say, the difference between brand X and SURA was like the difference between night and day. I plan to sign up with SURA.
About a month after I went to SURA, brand X contacted me to come in for the vaccination. The news that I’d cancelled my policy six weeks previously had escaped them.
Do you have a similar service you provide for setting up a Bancolombia bank account once you have a cedula? It seems like there’s lots of different info everywhere and going into the bank made it seem like a much more complicated process. Thanks in advance.
Sorry, no don’t have a service to help open a bank account.
FYI.. a few weeks ago i contacted them about eps. They said they only do private as there isnt money in the eps.
They now have a new service to help sign up with EPS for a fee of $125 USD, this is relatively new.
Fill out this form and they can help you – https://medellinguru.com/get-insurance-in-colombia/
I left Colombia and cannot figure out how to cancel my EPS. Will it cancel automatically if I have not payed in three months?
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