Luis Carlos Leal, Superintendent of Health, who took office at the beginning of this year.
Photo: El Espectador Archive
The Keralty group, of which EPS Sanitas is a part, launched its judicial response to the decision of the Health Superintendency to take financial possession of the health entity, based on alleged financial problems that need urgent intervention to guarantee the rights of 5.7 million members. Among the actions, Keralty challenged Superintendent Luis Carlos Leal before the Superintendency itself, seeking to remove him from the processes related to the EPS Sanitas.
In context: The legal arsenal that Sanitas prepares against the government: complaint, lawsuits and more
According to Juan David Riveros, legal representative of Keralty Colombia, the reason for this administrative appeal is a series of statements that Superintendent Leal has made publicly on his “X” account, formerly Twitter. They fished out his opinions between 2021 and 2023, the time when Leal was a councilor of Bogotá and before he began his period as superintendent, in which he specifically refers to Sanitas and the Colombian health system.
For Riveros, Superintendent Leal “was prevented from knowing any matter related to the EPS Sanitas, to the extent that, before being superintendent, on his social networks, he made comments and has taken positions that demonstrate the animosity he has towards the EPS and the country’s health system,” he explained in a press conference, moments before denouncing Leal for malfeasance at the Attorney General’s Office.
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The first trill referenced by Keralty dates back to December 16, 2021, when the now Superintendent Leal reacted to a video complaint from actress Luly Bossa, who demanded answers from Sanitas for the treatment of her son Ángelo, who died last March at cause of a degenerative muscle disease. “#Sanitas are going to respect my son’s life, no matter what good or bad,” said Bossa. And this is how Leal reacted:
The following trills exposed by Keralty date from May 12, 2022. One of them is related to the public complaint of a Sanitas user, who complained about delays in her medical care, despite going to the emergency room due to an accident at home . Luis Carlos Leal, then, responded: “Mrs. Sanitas and Clínica Colombia. You are the owners of the business. Do yourself a favor and fulfill your duty to care for your patients, okay?” At the same time, he went to the Health Superintendence, an institution that he currently directs.
Read also: Attorney General’s Office opens investigation into the Health Superintendent for taking over EPS Sanitas
That same day, he presented a video with the first Minister of Health of Gustavo Petro’s government, Carolina Corcho, explaining what the changes they sought to implement would be once they took office in the executive:
Here, the other trill from May 12, 2022:
This is another of the trills warned by Keralty, from January 5, 2023, in which Luis Carlos Leal questions whether an alleged “illegal program called patient optimization” exists within the EPS Sanitas:
Finally, on November 2, Luis Carlos Leal assured that the health reform of Gustavo Petro’s government was necessary and that “the problem between Santas and Cruz Verde is one of the many examples.” Then, on February 26, 2024, Luis Carlos Leal was officially installed as Superintendent of Health, replacing Ulahy Beltrán:
Superintendent Leal, for his part, spoke to journalists yesterday afternoon, April 15, at the exit of the Constitutional Court and assured that “the Superintendency has acted in accordance with current regulations and the law. The measure of forced administrative intervention against Sanitas, Nueva EPS and SOS, has all the arguments and legal basis to occur.” Regarding the challenge, he explained that his opinions about the health system are protected by the same high court and that, if Sanitas was affected, he was only doing his job as a councilor of Bogotá.
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