Adres initiates coercive collection proceedings for more than $289 billion against former Saludcoop president Carlos Palacino.

The Administrator of the Resources of the General Social Security System in Health (Adres) initiated a coercive collection process against Carlos Gustavo Palacino Antía, former president of the defunct EPS Saludcoop, for an amount exceeding 289 billion pesos. This measure responds to the order of the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Bogotá, which in November 2024 upheld the conviction against the former executive for diverting public funds intended for the Colombian health system.

The legal proceedings against Palacino date back more than a decade, when the Comptroller General's Office and the National Health Superintendency began investigating irregularities in Saludcoop's management of system resources. According to authorities, during his administration, Palacino improperly used health funds to invest in goods and services unrelated to medical care, including administrative expenses and the acquisition of real estate.

The Saludcoop EPS, once the largest in the country, was intervened by the National Government in 2011 after detecting a systematic pattern of misuse of resources from the Capitation Payment Unit (UPC). In 2016, the Health Superintendency ordered its liquidation, marking the definitive closure of one of the most emblematic—and controversial—entities in the country's health insurance system.

Based on the criminal sentence of the 49th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogotá, upheld by the Superior Court, and in response to the Supreme Court's refusal to admit the appeal filed by Palacino's defense, Adres issued the formal payment order against the former executive.

The initial value of the collection is $289.982 billion, a figure that has been indexed since 2005. However, the entity clarifies that the amount could reach up to $579.964 billion, in accordance with the limit allowed by Article 838 of the National Tax Statute.

Carlos Gustavo Palacino has already been served with the coercive collection action, which means that if he does not voluntarily pay the debt, his assets and accounts will be seized, as well as any other enforcement measures taken to ensure the recovery of the money.

Adres, as the entity responsible for managing and monitoring the health system's resources, stated that this process is part of its efforts to "recover public funds that were diverted for purposes other than health care." It also reiterated its commitment to transparency and legality in the use of Colombian health system funds.

Environment and Health Journalist