Health insurance — employer

Colombia's employer health insurance obligation requires all employers to register employees with the Colombian Health System (Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud, SGSSS) and contribute to their health coverage. The employer must affiliate each employee within thirty days of hire and maintain continuous coverage throughout the employment relationship. This mandatory social security contribution covers medical, surgical, dental, pharmaceutical, and hospitalization services for the employee and their dependents.

The health insurance requirement is governed by Law 100 of 1993 and regulated by the Ministry of Labor and the Superintendence of Health (Superintendencia Nacional de Salud). Employers must contribute a percentage of the employee's base salary to one of the authorized health insurance entities (Entidades Promotoras de Salud, EPS). The employer contribution rate is currently 8.5 percent of the employee's monthly salary, while employees contribute 4 percent, totaling 12.5 percent of payroll dedicated to health coverage.

Recent amendments through Decree 1072 of 2015 (the Single Labor Code) consolidated and clarified employer obligations regarding health insurance administration and employee notification requirements. Employers must provide employees with documentation confirming their health insurance affiliation and ensure contributions are remitted monthly to the selected EPS.

Payroll teams must verify employee health insurance registration before processing first payments, maintain accurate salary records to calculate correct contribution amounts, and ensure timely monthly remittance of employer and employee portions to the designated health insurance provider. Non-compliance results in significant penalties and potential legal liability for unpaid health coverage.