Evening star., 1932-09-18
Saving Billions by Keeping Well

81 900 a year. His dues are $50 year
Q.5 per cent Of $4,000. For $50 he
can buy approximately 1000 of ordi-
nary life insurance or approximately
s700 of industrial life insurance. Under
the mutual benefit plan he can buy
$4,000 Of life insurance in case OF death
or total disability and also two-thirds
pay, or s26 a week: for 26 weeks in case
Of accident or sickness from any cause.
Appeals to Older Men.
The plan appeals particularly to the
older men because they can get this
insurance regardless Of their age and
physical condition.
While the insurance features are a
great help in relieving the employees Of
some of the worries and anxieties that
come with sickness, the examination
feature is also extremely important. The
employer can very properly agree to
contribute his share toward the plan
provided the employees will agree to In
sist that every person who joins snail
take q physical examination every year.
But If the employees think the informa-
tion disclosed by the examination Is go
ing to be on record or will be used
against them, as is often the case under
the compensation acts, they simply re-
fuse to take them. If they are con-
vinced that this information is treated
confidentialy, all opposition disappears.
That Is why II Is so important that all
this medical work be handled by the
association directly and not by the en-
ployer.
In fact. the association must be con-
trolled entirely by the employees. The
employer simply contributes his share
and states that any surplus remaining
after paying the cost of benefits may be
disposed of at the discretion OF the as
ISOLATION. The question may arise as TO
why the employees should receive all the
surplus The answer Is that the savings
are an incentive for the employees to
take an interest in the health work.
And the employees themselves can do
things that no employer can do. Iney
soon become interested in seeing that
, everything possible is done to get sick
man back on the job and they endeavor
to induce him to do the things he
should do, so that he will not be out
again in a short time and forcing them
to take still more from the treasury to
pay his wages.
As to the dollars and cents the en-
ployer gets out of it, take a pay roll OF
81 .0OO. 600 on 1000 men. His share at
is per cent equals $4,000. 1t Is absurd
to suppose that if 1000 men are really
interested in improving their health,
have annual medical examinations and
adequate medical advice that they VIII
not increase their efficiency by SIS a
man and thus cut his expense at least
$4,000. Experience has shown that
this actually happens-indeed, much
greater saving than this.
The sum of the whole matter Is that
in 10 years of experience with more
than a score of Mutual Benefit Assocla-
tions of this type, involving over 10000
men, the results from an accounting
standpoint have been brilliant. From
the standpoint of the improved health
and morale of the men, the results have
not only been Of great money value, put
of incalculable aid in saving human
life. If put into operation upon a ma
tional scale, 1t is the belief OF the spon.,
sors that the savings in our national
health bill would run up far more than
a billion dollars a year, and this pelle1
rests not upon theory. but upon an ex-
tensive demonstration OF actual ex-
perience.