New Britain herald., 1915-10-30
INSURANCE ACT
 BROKEN BY WAR
Lloyd Georges Scheme for Pro-
 teCting Working Glasses
Correspondence of t-s Associated Press'

! SCorrespondence of tLs Associated Pressi
 London, Oct. 2O-The partial break down of the machinery of Lloyd | Georges famous Insurance Act for | protecting the working classes against illness and unemployment is one of the incidents of the upheaval of fin ancial conditions caused by the war, This scheme, with the old age pen sions, act, also linked with the name of the former Chancellor of the Ex- | chequer, constituted the most impor- 1 tant part of the program for social reform gathered by the Liberal par | ty. Both schemes were patterned | upon the German system. The in- surance act came into effect on the first of May, 1912, and the organiza- | ton for its working had hardly been perfected when the war began. | Hostile critics of the plan pre- dicted from the beginning that 1t would prove a failure. They now declare that the war has only has, tened the inevitable development, while the supporters lay the blame upon war conditions. Handel Booth, M. P, presiding at a meeting of in- surance experts this week, declared that the position of the act is cri- tical, and others urged that parlia- nnent pass an emergency bill to amend it. Prospectice benef1ciaries fear that this will mean a reduction of the benefits they were promised in return for their compulsory contribu- l tions.
 Principal Causes for Failure. Nf h nof nf 1 officials, and a huge staff of doctors together with complications caused by the participation of benefit societies and industrial insurance companies are held to be the principal causes 1 for the failure of contributions and promised benefits to balance. FouI separate commissions, one for each oi | the four kingdoms and each with a | great clerical staff and a cumbersome joint committee, were created for the | administratt) of the act. The sal l aries of officials alone consumed $2,- | 500,000 per year; office rentals and stationery expenses also have eaten up a considerable percentage of in- come. Retrenchment in these iter1s | is the first measure of reform con sidered, and the amalgamation of the English, Scottish and Welsh commis- l sions is proposed.
 On its payment side the Insurance
 Act provided for contributions oi
 eighteen cents per week for all per.
 sons earning $3.75 or less Of this
 the workman, or woman, paid eight
 cents, the employed six cents and
 the state four cents. Free medica
 attendance at all times, an allowance
 during sickness of $2.50 per week
 
 the first three months, and five shit. llngs for permanent disabIement were the principal benefits while a mater. the mother of each child born was a l popular feature.
 Expenses Exceed Estimates. The simple reason for the failure of l the great enterprise to meet the ex- pectations of it's sanguine promoters l is that expenses have far exceeded the | original estimates. The building of sanatoria for consumptives at a cost of $7,500,000, was an important fea- ture which has not been realized be- cause of lack of funds to build The doctors of the United Kingdom have profited greatly through Insurance Act, according to popular belief. Tn
 
 I,between the government and the Brit ish Medical Association over the terms of payment to the official physicians Those chosen were to have several hundred people accredited to them, at an annual rate of S1.50 per per- son including drugs to be furnished by the doctors. The compromise gave the doctors a maximum of S225 Der possible patient. The estimates of the total cost of medical attention under the act were about $S,00O, 900 for 14,700,000 persons, but the &C., tual results are not known
 Before the Insurance Act came into force newly fiedged doctors thought themselves fortunate if they could earn from s750 to S1,000 by assist ing older practitioners and for this they were expected to work very long hours. Under the act many young men are credited with earning from $5,000 to $7,00O. the fortunate ones being those whose surgeries are sit uated in the poorer class and working class districts. The doctors have 2 strong counter balancing grievance in the slowness of the government to pay them. Most of the accounts for the year 1914 have not been settlsH yet.