Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree introducing paid medical services in Turkmenistan. The objective of the measure is to reduce state health-care expenditures. In 2001, Niyazov cut the number of state-employed health-care workers by several thousand for the same purpose. The present decree requires that specialized medical facilities in Ashgabat and oblast centers become self-supporting. The number of low- and mid-level medical personnel is to be reduced by 15,000. Emergency services, natal care, and children\'s facilities will continue to provide free services, as will facilities treating cancer, tuberculosis, alcoholism and drug addiction, and mental-health problems. (ITAR-TASS)