Chavez threatens to
nationalize private
hospitals
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez said Tuesday
that private hospitals
could be nationalized if
their owners did not
reduce health care
costs.
Chavez made a nationally
televised speech, saying
that the privately owned
hospitals and clinics
would be made part of
the public health
service if they failed
to abide by the law.
He also described costs
at private clinics as a
symptom of "the evil of
capitalism," which allow
only wealthier, insured
patients to afford
better treatment at
private hospitals.
The Venezuelan president
has taken a series of
measures to improve the
public health service,
such as building new
clinics and sending
doctors to provide free
care to poor people.
Following his
re-election for a
six-year presidential
term in December, Chavez
launched a
nationalization drive in
such key fields as
telecommunications,
electricity and oil.
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