[N]ative physicians are fleeing in droves, sometimes "entire graduating classes at a time," according to the Caracas daily El Universal. Hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers are shutting down, while basic medications are disappearing. A cancer hospital born 40 years ago but never completed is now a squatters home. No wonder the Nurses College of Caracas recently asked the authorities to declare a national health emergency. Maduro's response? Arrest the owner of a pharmacy chain for waging "economic warfare."
AIDS patients are already under siege. Venezuela has the fourth-highest number of people living with AIDS in Latin America, yet its spending on treatment and prevention dropped from $109 million to $80 million from 2010 to 2011, according to the latest UN report. The report showed that AIDS was just as prevalent among 14 to 49-year-olds (0.6 percent infected) in 2012 as it was in 2001. With foreign exchange controls tightening, patient advocates say that government has all but stopped handing out imported condoms.
-RW
"Will Obamacare Ever Cause Things to Get as Bad as Socialized Medicine in Venezuela?
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the point? A tiny, wealthy, entitled ruling class with a huge, docile, underclass is a feature of Socialism, not a bug.
Watch for unintended consequences. Physicians fleeing Venezuela may actually benefit the citizens as they will be less likely to be fleeced by physicians who are paid by the government and so have no incentive to "first do no harm." If Obomocare has similar results it may be the single biggest benefit to U.S healthcare unless the government replaces them with bureaucrats.
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