Problems paying my EPS Medical Payment

elk says on Jul 7, 2008, 14:04:

Update:

Apparently this will be problem for those paying into the EPS medical insurance system.
Lawyer Colombia was kind enough to contact me with the below information.

Under the new law which took effect 1 July 2008 a new payment code will be required each month before making your payment to the respective bank. First you request the code by telephone which is required prior to making the payment at the bank. The problem is thousands of people are calling the number at the same time in an attempt to obtain the code number. The number in Medellin is 448-2727, which is always busy. I've been trying to make contact for several days.

This process will need to be repeated each month since you receive the code for only the current month. Lawyer Colombia suggested I ask for several codes covering future months, eliminating additional calls. He tells me this will be a problem not only for foreign pensionado's, but local Colombians as well.

You will also have to complete another document if your currently drawing a foreign pension. As a foreigner your not required to pay into the local pension fund, but you need to complete an informational document. I'm not sure if this will be required each month or only once.

Hopefully others can share their experiences with this new process and the new Colombian law.

I can only assume the medical system will be short of money if their clients are unable to make payments into the system. Talk about "catch 22"

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truthspeaker says on Jul 7, 2008, 14:47:

Get a prepagada plan and you wont have thoses worries --

EPS is fo the poor

Remember, I can only tell the truth. No more Sex Tourism in Colombia.

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elk says on Jul 7, 2008, 14:51:

Truthspeaker

Some of us are truly poor!

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vicshere says on Jul 7, 2008, 14:57:

Some of us are truly poor!

now that's an under statement

listo

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gringoloid says on Jul 7, 2008, 15:02:

truth speaker brings up this prepaid medicine plan. i was told today that this is a much better way to go. is anyone out there using a prepaid medical plan?

Who are the three blind men?

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rocinante says on Jul 7, 2008, 15:58:

Paying certain things monthly can be a royal pain in the ass.

One can pay their EPS until December and be done with it, right at a Coomeva payment center all in one shot. Also you can pay your Coomeva prepaid payments tuill the end of December as well. After December both of those rates change so those are TBD.

Tell them at the Coomeva office that you are leaving the country occasionally and won't be able to make payments from abroad - ovbiously you can't because they don't accept premium payments over the internet - yet.

Everyone who has a medical plan, prepaid or not, HAS to pay EPS as well, so it's not just for the poor. For a TruthSpeaker you are uninformed - let's leave it at that.

G' Loid I use prepaid from Coomeva.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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viajero123 says on Jul 7, 2008, 16:05:

https://www.miplanilla.com/ lets you pay any EPS online (only if you have a Colombian bank account to pay with, I think it doesn't have to be your necessarily). Since you don't contribute to a pension fund then it might be a problem so you might have to call the call centre. They are very useful but good Spanish is a must to make the call.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 7, 2008, 16:28:

Yup, I paid an annual premium for Coomeva Gold. Unfortunately, I paid the agent. The agent promptly paid a semi-annual premium and pocketed the balance. And she listed an incorrect address and phone for me so Coomeva couldn't contact me at the mid-year point for the rest of the money.

PS: That was over 2 years ago, and Coomeva has yet to give me the money back.

And, yes, I had to pay EPS as well.

Sounds like another typical Colombian mind fuck, Elk.

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rocinante says on Jul 7, 2008, 16:42:

Tomtom! Why didn't you pay the cashier? You handed money to the agent and walked out? I think you're BS'in us.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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tomtom33 says on Jul 7, 2008, 18:09:

The agent was at my apartment, and I paid her. I have done that in the US for years. And I was in a business where agents of mine collected money in the home for many years.

I seem to have to learn everything the hard way.

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Gator says on Jul 7, 2008, 18:37:

Ours is handled through our Coomeva Gold and the EPS at the same time. Always pay at the assigned Coomeva office.

I will agree it is confusing-but so is life.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Noelito40 says on Jul 7, 2008, 18:54:

Re the general matter of EPS v Prepagada, it is best to have both!

We were quite happy with EPS for non emergencies but if anyone here is planning on using maternity care (or if not planned, but needed ;-) get prepagada!!!!

We are with CafeSalud and they give us a discount on our EPS as we have both (EPS and prepagada) with them.

Noelito

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truthspeaker says on Jul 7, 2008, 19:00:

My wife and I have both. We pay about 400,000 per month. We can choose the doctors and hospitals. We use ColSanitas in Med.

Remember, I can only tell the truth. No more Sex Tourism in Colombia.

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vicshere says on Jul 7, 2008, 19:46:

holy crap 400,000 you guys must be loaded or in need of a good doctor...a head doctor

listo

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Noelito40 says on Jul 7, 2008, 20:06:

I am paying about 350k a month for the wife and I and I'm not loaded! Furthermore although we have met many a good doctor in EPS, if we ever need emergency maternity care, I will be thankful I have paid for private care. (Take it from someone who has experienced emergency maternity care EPS style!!)

Noelito

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vicshere says on Jul 7, 2008, 20:25:

dam my wife had the baby 2 years ago under an EPS and there wasn't one problem what so ever.... 2 1/2 years ago I was in he hospital with a heart problem no problem what so ever...all this for paying the minimum payment at that time of just under 50,000...cant understand why people keep knocking the system..it seems to be working good....yupp some people fall through the cracks...it happens everywhere even in first world countries

listo

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gringoloid says on Jul 8, 2008, 05:20:

Noelito, I found your comment about health care informative but i have further questions.

I have EPS/CafeSalud and I have never used either one. I heard about this "prepaid" yesterday morning, coincidentally, and would love to learn more.

Could you please elaborate on the costs, coverages, etc.?

Rocinante has promised to explain the whole thing when he returns to Colomiba but i have a few questions now.

One more question.......Along with Colombian insurance, I have an american hospitalization policy that i've never used either. Being that I'm in good health and my parents never needed any medical treatment or hospitals until just before they died in their 80's and 90's, what are pbher's thoughts on dropping the CafeSalud hospital policy?

Problem is, I might have trouble requalifying later in life if I needed to have the insurance.

I could just pay the doctor and hospital here and then go to Miami for any hospital work needed.

I also have a Med-Vac policy from American Express that will fly me out of Colombia immediately if I need emergency treatment.

What are your thoughts? Drop the CafeSalud policy?

Who are the three blind men?

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elk says on Jul 9, 2008, 06:50:

Paying your EPS medical is going to be a problem. According to the news last night here in Medellin paying for your medical insurance, EPS, is a major problem for everyone and will continue for some time.

Payment requires the payee to obtain a Codigo each month in order to make the payment at the bank. However the phone number they provide is always busy and the internet site they provided is "under construction" at the moment. Thousands are trying to make the monthly payment and the system is over loaded.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 9, 2008, 07:29:

After having Coomeva shove it up my backside, I tried to get insured in Colombia by a different company. For some inane reason, there is a waiting period of several years before I can do that simply because I was once insured by Coomeva. Another Colombian mind fuck?

At any rate I now have full coverage in the US and pay for care in Colombia out-of-pocket. Generally, Colombian medicine is fairly inexpensive. I get all my routine stuff done when I am in the US for summer. And I get all my prescription meds in the US. I am thinking that I may just continue this arrangement even after I can apply for insurance from a Colombian insurer other than Coomeva.

I used to have emergency evacuation insurance but dropped it. Colombia can treat me in an emergency. If I can fly, I'm headed back to the US.

So far I have had emergency laser surgery for a detached retina in Colombia. I think the total bill came to 1 million COP. And I had a full colonoscopy after picking up giardia from the Cartagena water. I don't recall the fee for that. ER visits for small stuff cost in the range of 50 to 100K. I saw my novia's doctor about the giardia, and the total cost was 15K. Another time I saw a doctor in MDE on short notice for a minor infection. It cost 20K.

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vicshere says on Jul 9, 2008, 09:08:

for me my emergency laser surgery for a detached retina in Colombia cost me a grand total of 2,000 big ones yes just over a dollar this was under a EPS which i pay about 50,000 per month

listo

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tomtom33 says on Jul 9, 2008, 10:01:

Hopefully your laser surgery turned out better than mine. I went blind. Then I returned to the US on the advice of my Colombian ophthalmologist for surgery to re-attach the retina. I think that surgery cost around US$50,000. I paid around $2 or 3,000.

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vicshere says on Jul 9, 2008, 10:50:

well mine went very well actually...they stuck a glass thing into my eyeball...I thought my eyeball was going to pop out but it didn't....then he shot it a bunch of times with the laser thingy and about three weeks lager all the black dots and streaks went away

listo

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truthspeaker says on Jul 10, 2008, 12:50:

vicshere

Thats still no excuse for your selection of women

Remember, I can only tell the truth. No more Sex Tourism in Colombia.

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