President Hugo Chavez warned that his government could take over private hospitals if they continue raising prices for care.Chavez made the remark during a speech Monday at the presidential palace, saying if private hospitals "keep speculating, increasing prices, they will have to be regulated."
"Any private hospital that doesn't comply with the regulations that are made, if necessary, will have to be nationalized," Chavez said. "We cannot allow there to be a shameless looting using such important services as health."
A state takeover of certain private hospitals, if carried out, could significantly expand Chavez's nationalization drive which already includes concerns such as electrical companies, Venezuela's largest telecom and lucrative oil projects in the Orinoco River basin.
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