LatinNews Daily - 25 June 2020

*The Peruvian government has reached an agreement with the country’s association of private clinics (ACP) to reduce the prices paid for treating patients with coronavirus (Covid-19), after President Martín Vizcarra threatened to expropriate these clinics if a deal could not be reached. The government had been paying private clinics to treat Covid-19 patients for months but talks to reduce the price of these services had made little progress. The ACP reported that the government’s offer – approximately PEN4,360 (US$1,242) per patient in intensive care per day – was almost 50% less than the standard PEN8,000 fee and would lead clinics to make losses. “This rate would not be an agreement with us, it would unilaterally remove us”, an ACP statement warned. However, Vizcarra’s threat of expropriation (citing article 70 of the constitution, with reference to “the most serious crisis in history”) saw a deal struck between the ACP and the government’s health and economy ministries within a matter of hours, although it is not yet clear if the government improved its previously proposed rate.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 176 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial