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# The Statutory Health Law (Law 1751 of 2015)

- System and programme

It is the law that recognises health as a fundamental right in Colombia and sets its elements, principles and the only grounds for excluding a service.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Health as an autonomous and inalienable fundamental right, individual and collective (article 2).
- Elements: availability, acceptability, accessibility, and quality and professional competence (article 6).
- Principles include universality, pro homine, equity, continuity, timeliness, priority of children's rights, progressiveness, free choice and sustainability.
- Comprehensiveness (article 8): services are given in full; responsibility for a service is not fragmented.
- Exclusions (article 15): cosmetic or luxury purpose, no evidence of safety, efficacy or effectiveness, not authorised, experimental, or provided abroad.
- Emergency care without prior administrative authorisation (article 14); groups under special protection (article 11).

On this page

- The basics Key points
- What it is
- How it is organised
- Worked example
- The four elements of the right to health
- Markers
- In practice
- Reference norms
- Memory aid

- Study Test yourself

- Connections Connections

## What it is

Law 1751 of 2015 is a statutory law: it regulates a fundamental right and went through prior review by the Constitutional Court. It declares the right to health autonomous and inalienable, individually and collectively, and defines its elements (availability, acceptability, accessibility, quality) and principles. It changes the logic of the benefits plan: everything is covered except what is expressly excluded on criteria set by the law itself.

## How it is organised

- Purpose and nature of the right (articles 1 to 4): to guarantee the right, regulate it and set its protection mechanisms.
- Duties of the State and elements and principles of the right (articles 5 and 6).
- Comprehensiveness, social determinants, rights and duties of people, and groups under special protection (articles 8 to 11).
- Benefits and exclusions (article 15), pharmaceutical policy and price regulation (article 23).
- Published in Diario Oficial 49427 on 16 February 2015, after ruling C-313 of 2014 of the Constitutional Court.

## Worked example

- A made-up patient starts treatment in January; in March the EPS changes its contract with the IPS.
- Under the continuity principle, treatment already started cannot be interrupted for administrative or financial reasons.
- In April he arrives at the emergency department of another IPS: under article 14, emergency care needs no prior authorisation.
- If the treating doctor orders a service that is not on the exclusion list, it is understood to be covered (comprehensiveness).

## The four elements of the right to health

| Element | What it requires |
| --- | --- |
| Availability | That services, technologies, institutions, programmes and competent staff exist |
| Acceptability | Respect for medical ethics, cultures and the particular features of each group |
| Accessibility | Non-discrimination, physical access, affordability and access to information |
| Quality and professional competence | Services centred on the user and medically and technically appropriate |

## Markers

- Statutory law
- Fundamental right
- Comprehensiveness
- Exclusions

## In practice

- Article 17 guarantees professional autonomy to diagnose and treat, within self-regulation, ethics and scientific evidence.
- Children and adolescents, pregnant women, victims of violence and of the armed conflict, older adults, people with rare diseases and people with disabilities are under special protection.

## Reference norms

- Law 1751 of 2015, statutory law on the fundamental right to health.
- Constitutional Court, ruling C-313 of 2014: prior review of the bill.
- Political Constitution, article 49 (public health service) and article 86 (tutela action).
- Constitutional Court, ruling T-760 of 2008: earlier ruling that recognised health as a fundamental right.

## Memory aid

Everything is in, except what is excluded: the statutory law swapped a list of inclusions for a list of exclusions.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What does article 2 of Law 1751 of 2015 recognise?

That health is an autonomous and inalienable fundamental right, individually and collectively.

## What are the essential elements of the right to health under the law?

Availability, acceptability, accessibility, and quality and professional competence.

## Which criteria allow a service to be excluded from public funding?

Cosmetic or luxury purpose, lack of evidence of safety or efficacy, lack of authorisation by the competent authority, experimental stage, or provision abroad.

## Does the law require prior administrative authorisation to treat an emergency?

No: article 14 forbids requiring administrative authorisation between provider and insurer for emergency care.

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## Connections

## Related 5

- [Colombia's General System of Social Security in Health (SGSSS)](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/colombia-s-general-system-of-social-security-in-health/)
- [The health benefits plan](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/the-health-benefits-plan/)
- [Tutela and ways to claim the right to health](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/tutela-and-ways-to-claim-the-right-to-health/)
- [Social determinants of health](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/social-determinants-of-health/)
- [EPS and IPS (insurers and providers)](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/eps-and-ips/)

[← All of epidemiology](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/)

Educational content on epidemiological and statistical methods; the examples use made-up numbers to teach the calculation. Not a clinical or legal guide: current Colombian rules are in the official sources.

Sources: [Ley 1751 de 2015](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=60733) (Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública, Colombia (Gestor Normativo), 2015); [Sentencia T-760/08](https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2008/t-760-08.htm) (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, 2008); [Constitución Política 1 de 1991](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=4125) (Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública, Colombia (Gestor Normativo), 1991).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/the-statutory-health-law/