From my rusty notes:
Before Fidel there were private and public hospitals in Cuba. The private ones would take associated members (who paid a monthly quota, like an HMO) and others. The public ones, anybody, including indigents. That's what they were there for. There was no insurance system as insurance systems are fairly new.
I write more about Cuba's healthcare before Fidel in my book, but here are some (only some) of the hospitals in Havana alone:
The Children Hospital
The Military Hospital (at Camp Columbia)
The Workers Maternity Hospital
La Inmaculada in El Cerro and in the same neighborhood La Asociacion Cubana- Both private.
Calixto Garcia (University Hospital)
Hospital Infantil Mercedes
Centro Medico Quirurgico (Private)
Las Animas (infectious diseases)
Clinica the Miramar- Emergencias
Clinica Santos Suarez
Clinica del Abogado
Hospital de Maternidad
Hospital del Cancer
Regional Centers with their hospitals
Centro Gallego
Centro Asturiano
Centro de Dependientes
Emergency stations- Casas de Socorro (with one doctor and a nurse in every neighborhood. Yesterday's Urgent Care.
Multiple clinics for Tuberculosis, part of Consejo Nacional de Tuberculosis (Cuba eliminated TB before Fidel).
In Santiago
Hospital Municipal
Centro Gallego y Los Angeles
Every city, and Cuba is a big island with thousands of cities, had a major hospital for all, Red Cross Urgent Clinics in every neighborhood, private doctor offices, clinics, dentists, optometrists, multiple pharmacies, and orthopaedic physical therapy for orthopaedic shoes and other orthopaedic needs.
Fidel closed them all. He eliminated them all and replaced them with topical animalistic Marxist Medicine from Russia.
He never counted on technology.
I hope to post various Facebook Groups that will show you what Cuba was like in this and other areas.
