- Colombian clinics set prices in COP. The USD figure on your quote is that price converted on a specific date at a specific rate. Both should be on the quote.
- The peso has moved 5 percent or more against the dollar within a single quarter more than once in recent years. On a $7,000 surgical fee that is $350 either way.
- Three lock-in models exist: the clinic fixes the COP price, the clinic fixes the USD price, or nothing is fixed. Know which one you are in.
- You convert when you pay. Paying at the mid-market rate through a transfer service, on a day you choose, is the only lever you fully control.
Almost every price on this site is in dollars, because that is what US and Canadian patients think in. Almost every price at a Colombian clinic is in pesos, because that is what the clinic pays its surgeons, staff, and suppliers in. The dollar figure you receive is a conversion, and a conversion has a date. This article explains what that means for the amount you actually pay, without predicting the rate, which nobody can do.
How much the peso moves
The reference rate is the TRM, the representative market rate, published daily by Colombia’s central bank, the Banco de la República, and used by banks, clinics, and the tax authority. Over the past several years it has ranged widely, and moves of 5 percent or more within a single quarter have happened repeatedly in both directions. The chart below is an illustration of what such a swing does to a quote, not a forecast.
What a 5 percent peso move does to the same COP price
Illustrative. The clinic’s peso price is unchanged in all three rows; only the conversion moves. A 5 percent swing over a quarter is within the range observed in the Banco de la República TRM series in recent years, in both directions.
What should be on the quote
Two numbers and a date: the price in COP, the price in USD, and the TRM or rate used to convert between them on the day the quote was issued. With those three you can recompute the dollar figure on any later day yourself. A quote with only a dollar figure and no peso figure is either a clinic that has decided to carry the exchange risk itself, which is generous and should be stated, or a clinic that will recalculate at payment and tell you then. Ask which.
The three lock-in models
A paid deposit often locks the model. If the clinic converts your deposit at the rate on the day it arrives and credits you in pesos, you are in the first model for the balance; if it credits the deposit in dollars, you may be in the second. Ask how the deposit is booked, and get the answer in the written policy that the deposits article describes.
When to convert
You convert at the moment you pay, and the rate you get is whichever rate the method you pay with applies on that day. A bank wire converts at the receiving bank’s rate on the day it lands, which sits 1 to 3 percent below the TRM and on a date you do not control. A card converts at the issuer’s rate on the transaction date, plus fees. A transfer service such as Wise converts at the mid-market rate on the day you send, which you choose, and shows you the rate before you confirm. That is the only lever you fully control: not where the peso goes, but that you pay at the real rate on a day you picked rather than at a bank’s rate on a day you did not. The payment article prices each method.
Should you try to time it
No, not seriously. Nobody reliably predicts a quarter of USD/COP, and a patient who delays paying a surgical balance to wait for a better rate is trading a few hundred dollars of possible gain against losing an OR slot or a deposit. The sensible approach is to know the model you are in, budget the dollar figure at the quote-day rate plus 5 percent as a cushion, pay the deposit when the written policy is in hand, and pay the balance at the mid-market rate a few days before surgery as the clinic requires. If the peso happens to weaken between quote and payment, you keep the difference in the first model; if it strengthens, the cushion covers it. Either way you are not gambling with a surgery date.
What this means on this site
The ranges on the pricing page and in the estimator are dollar translations of peso ranges at recent rates, and they are updated when the rate moves enough to matter. Every quote from this site shows the COP figure, the USD figure, and the TRM used, and states which lock-in model the clinic applies, so the number you plan against is the number you can recompute. The network hub, Colombia Medical, applies the same rule to every procedure it coordinates.
Want a real quote for this?
Message Andy with your photos, history, and dates. You get a named surgeon, a named facility, and an itemized USD price you can verify. Typical ranges here are ranges until a surgeon prices your case.
Questions people ask
Do Colombian clinics price in dollars or pesos?
In pesos. The dollar figure on a quote is a conversion of the COP price on a specific date at a specific rate, usually the TRM published by the Banco de la República. Both figures and the date should be on the quote.
How much can the exchange rate change my surgery price?
The peso has moved 5 percent or more against the dollar within a quarter more than once in recent years. On a $7,000 surgical fee that is about $350 in either direction between quote and payment, if the clinic fixes the COP price.
Can a Colombian clinic lock in my price in dollars?
Some will, typically for 30 to 90 days or until the surgery date, absorbing the rate risk themselves. It is worth asking for. Most clinics instead fix the peso price and let the dollar figure float.
What is the TRM?
The tasa representativa del mercado, Colombia’s official daily USD/COP reference rate, published by the central bank and used by banks, clinics, and the tax authority for conversions.
When should I pay a Colombian clinic to get the best rate?
You cannot reliably time the peso. Budget the quote-day dollar figure plus a 5 percent cushion, pay the deposit when the written policy is in hand, and pay the balance at the mid-market rate through a transfer service a few days before surgery.
Why did my dollar price go up before the consultation?
If the clinic can show the same COP price on both documents and the two rates that explain the difference, it is the exchange rate. If it cannot show the COP figure, it is a new price, and you should ask what changed.
Have a real quote in front of you?
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