Slovakia To Seize Private Health Insurers

The climate looks decidedly unhealthy for private health care as Slovakia prepares to grab the country's two insurance firms

Slovakia unveiled plans on Wednesday to buy out or expropriate its two private health insurers, judging that reinstating a unified state-run insurer would save the government cash that now goes into insurers' and other private sector pockets.

A forced buyout would be an unprecedented move in the euro zone country's history and Prime Minister Robert Fico said the move would be very carefully carried out to avoid trouble in court as he expected investors to fight his plan.