The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-12-16

with consideration Of European experience witt.
state medicine and health insurance
The result is a sweeping indictment Of the status
of medical care and costs in our country today.
There is no attack upon the general efficiency or
devotion of American medical science but there is
both direct and implied criticism Of medical serv-
ice in the United States.
few representative figures win give adequate
comprehension OF the magnitude and importance of
the problem. only 5O2s5 soldiers Of cne United
States were killed during the World war; whereas
in 1880, some 8s0ss Americans died from tubercu-
losis, 1898 from and ls5s45 from largely
preventive diseases of infancy
Medical care ranks sixth among financial expendi-
lures receiving total annual outlay Of ss577 600
No less than l,Os4.5OO persons are engaged in one
way another in caring for the sick in the United
States.
There Is however, little practical adoption of the
old slogan that an ounce of prevention is worth
pound of cure Some 1875 per cent of the total cost
of medical care goes for treatment of illness, while
only IA per cent is spent prevention Of disease
Per capita expenditure for medicines is $549
year. that for public heath-federa state and local
only ST.
The two chief defects of medical service-aside
from the sighting of preventive medicine-are un-
even cost of medical and inadequacy Of medical
service to the poor in cities and to all classes in many
rural regions of the United States.
One per cent of those families with incomes Of
$1,000 less paid over $500 annually for medical
Many others in this income group must have
received grossly inadequate medical attention for
more than 80 per cent paid less than $50 year for
medical In the higher income groups IA per
cent of those with incomes of over $4,000 paid more
. than $500 for medical care.
Medical service in the rural areas is VIGOROUSLY
inadequate AS the report states: Current expendi
lures for medical in rural and semirural areas
are insufficient to insure even approximately ade-
quate service, to support necessary facilities or to
provide satisfactory remuneration to the practtion-
There is need for geographical distribution
of practitioners and agencies which more closely
approxmates the medical requirements of the people,
particularly in rural areas, towns and small cities"
There is no ground for the frequently expressed
opinion that the doctors are greatly overpaid
group, fattening on large fees extracted from the
needy. Indeed the medical profession is distinctly
underpaid, when takes into consideration the
exacting and expensive preparation which is re-
quired-seven years of higher education and one or
two Years of internship in hospital after gradua-
tion-and the expensive Office equipment which must
be provided
The average income of all practitioners is SIS 300
Even in 1929, before the depression had affected the
situation, one-third of all private practitioners re-
ceved less than $500. For every physician with an
income of more than $4,000, there were two who
received less than $4,000.
The general practitioners are particularly under
paid In 1929, the 10000 general practitioners re-
ceved less than the 10000 specialists The average
income of the former under $4,000 while that
of the latter ranged above $4,000
These facts prove we'll enough that while the
individual cost OF medical is absurdly high this
is due to the anarchy. which prevails in the organ
ization of medical service and not to any Shylock
proclivites the part of most physicians and sur
geons
In short, this authoritative report makes it clear
that social and economic planning is just as much
needed in this phase of social life as in all other
aspects of our present economy. And the usual OBJ
lection to economic planning for our whole social
order, namely that it is too vast task and nobody
can pretend to enough specialized knowledge to act
czar committee is not valid here
There is certainly knowledge enough if it is ap-
piled to the situation at hand. All that is needed
is to abandon the social ideals of frontier society
and to adapt medical service to twentieth century
conditions and methods.
Hospital officials announce that babies now are
SIS to $50 cheaper than they used to be. And the
uuality,S lust the same