They had the "progressive" agenda.
They had the single payer (government).
They had the "progressive" politician, Chavez, to protect "the people" from all those profit-making companies.
They even had oil revenues to fund their system.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...11-06-00-10-00
And now they can't even treat glaucoma cases:
---------------------------
"I feel like I've been abandoned," Gonzalez, 37, tells a bright-eyed hospital psychologist trying to boost her morale. Her right eye is swollen by glaucoma diagnosed two years ago but left untreated when she had trouble getting an appointment."
---------------------------
Two years to treat something that requires quick response before the eye pressure does too much damage to the patient's vision.
So, I guess it isn't just the patients with minor illnesses that are on wait lists.