Cabinet to consider health service privatization bill

The Cabinet will on Tuesday consider a bill presented by the health ministry on the privatization of the health service. According to deputy health minister Anna Knysok, it is possible that the bill could be passed before the end of the current parliament. "The privatization of hospitals and out-patient clinics is not sufficient to cure the health sector, but it is another step that may contribute to the improvement of its work," said Knysok. She added that health workers and local authorities support the sector's privatization. Financial institutions from Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA have already expressed an interest in the proposed sale. It is possible that under the privatization bill, larger hospitals may enter the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). The health ministry plan assumes that the privatization process will last 15 years. (Puls Biznesu, p.7) A.Z.