Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-30
Health Insurance
Must Be Studied

DR.. c. II. Crennan, of the Univers-
ity of Pennsylvania, director of tho
bureau of research of the State
Chamber, read valuable paper on
compulsory health insurance at tho
close of the afternoon session. DE,
Crennan has considered the prob1
lem from top to bottom and urged
that it be studied as a most import1
ant matter predicting that it would
occupy big place in the next Legis+
lature.
DR.. Crennan said: THE following
figures indicate something of the
time lost from work by employees
during the "hu' because of sicknesst
and sickness absentNoism is of
course only one part of the sickness
problem. During the eight weeks
from October 6 to Novem ber 80.
1918, some $4,000 male employees in
Pennsylvania whose time sheets
were reported to the Research
Bureau by members of the Penns
sylvania State Chamber of ComS
merce. were absent from work be1
cause of sickness an average of "a
days each. Some 1000 female emt
ployes, whose time sheets were rex
ported, lost an average of 81 days
each. If this same sickness absen|
teeism rate were to be used to asa
certain AZ yearly rate, we SHouio oSS
rive the following figures; male em1
ployes throughout the State would
lose, on the basis of a so week work
year, an average of 1895 days and
female employees an average of %.
days each. This rate, based on
period when we had an unprece1
dented epidemic. is clearly out Of
line with the normal sickness aba
senteeism rate which will shortly BID
| noted. Such an exaggerated sick1
! ness absentism rate, however, esq
pecially when combined with data
as to the total number of man and
woman hours of labor lost by the
employees studied, drives home tho
seriousness of sickness from one
| economic standpoint and emphasizes
| the necessity of taking all possible
measures to avoid another such sick<
ness peak. !
According to the 1910 Census Sup<
| plement for Pennsylvania, there
We're S77,543 such wage-earners in
! 1909, and figuring on the basis of
| the Health Insurance COMMISSIONS
| sickness absent eeiSm rate, these ems
ployes must have lost in that yeaG
at least 47,3S7,000 work-hours be-
cause of sickness.
| Just what compulsory health in<
surance would cost, if established in
| Pennsylvania, cannot now be def
initely stated. That the cost would
| be an appreciable figure may, how
ever be inferred from such findings
or estimates as have been made by
agencies other than our State Health
| Insurance Commission. The Illi~
nois Commission states (p. 165 of it's
report) that "the cost of compulsory
| health insurance in Illinois would
be between s50,000,000 and $685.
100000 annually, conservatively es<
timated on the basis of the invests
CATION of sickness among wage-
earners and the attendant costs. I"
The Ohio Commission estimates the
annual cash benefit cost at $12, ,600,-
900 for 100000 workmen, the an-
nual cost for medical care S12,600,-
900 for 100000 workmen and their
dependents. the annual death benefit
cost $1,000,000 per year and $780,
600 as the annual cost of adminis-
tration. Often estimates are given
as a percentage of the PAYROLL
usually 4 per cent. is the figure used.
For Pennsylvania employers this
figure is probably the significant one
to remember"