Sophie — a 29-year-old French graphic designer living in Medellín on a digital nomad visa — discovered she was pregnant at 8 weeks. Her first call was to her medical plan provider to confirm coverage. The answer was not what she expected: her Art. 11-compliant plan had a 10-month waiting period (período de carencia) for maternity coverage. She was 8 weeks pregnant. The baby would arrive in roughly 32 weeks. The plan had been in force for 7 months. She was three weeks short of coverage. The plan would cover the delivery only if the baby arrived two weeks past the expected date — which her ob-gyn said was unlikely. The out-of-pocket projection for a private clinic delivery in Medellín: COP 9–15 million.
Maternity is one of the most asked-about and most misunderstood coverage topics in Colombia's expat community. Art. 11 compliance does not mean maternity is covered. It depends on the specific plan — and the waiting period makes timing everything.
Bogotá/Medellín 2026
hospitalization
pre-existing pregnancy excluded
period — payroll employees only
Art. 11 and Maternity: What It Covers and What It Doesn't
Resolution 5477/2022, Art. 11 sets a minimum floor of COP 29.5 million per event for medical, surgical, and hospital expenses. It does not mention maternity as a mandatory coverage component. This means a plan that satisfies Art. 11 can legitimately exclude maternity — and many plans in the Colombian market do. Verifying maternity coverage in the specific plan is the applicant's responsibility, not the Cancillería's. The visa approval says nothing about whether your plan covers childbirth.
Waiting Periods: The Timing Problem
Plans that do include maternity coverage in Colombia typically apply a waiting period of 6–10 months from enrollment before the coverage activates. The practical consequence: a foreigner who arrives in Colombia already pregnant and enrolls in a plan on arrival will not have maternity coverage by the time of delivery. Most insurers classify an ongoing pregnancy as a pre-existing condition and exclude it from maternity coverage regardless of waiting period. Plans specifically designed to cover ongoing pregnancies exist but are rare and more expensive. The safest approach for a foreigner planning to start a family in Colombia is to enroll in a plan with maternity coverage before conception.
EPS: The Best Option — For Those Who Qualify
For foreign women employed under a formal Colombian labor contract and enrolled in payroll, EPS maternity coverage is the most comprehensive option available in Colombia. The PBS (Plan de Beneficios en Salud) covers: prenatal consultations, ultrasounds, laboratory work, delivery (vaginal or C-section), postpartum hospitalization, newborn care during the hospital stay, and 14 weeks of paid maternity leave financed through the social security system. There is no waiting period for EPS maternity coverage — it activates from the first month of contribution. This coverage is unavailable to foreigners who are not in formal Colombian payroll.
Public Hospitals as a Safety Net
Colombian law requires all healthcare institutions to provide emergency and delivery care regardless of insurance status — no woman in labor can be turned away. Public hospitals (hospitales públicos) operate under this obligation and provide maternity care through the subsidized regime at minimal or zero cost for the uninsured. The standard of care varies significantly between institutions, and public hospitals in major cities (Hospital de Kennedy in Bogotá, Hospital General de Medellín) are well-equipped. For low-risk deliveries, this is a documented fallback. It is not a substitute for coverage, but it exists.