Evening star., 1938-02-27
EXPANDED HEALTH
PROGRAM URGED
Roosevelt Committee Favors
Wider Movement to
Save Lives.

A national health program with
greatly expanded public provision for
medical and hospital care for the
one-third Of the population which is
''ill-nourished, ill-housed, ill-clothed."
to save thousands Of lives and billions
Of dollars now lost annually, was
recommended to President Roosevelt
yesterday, by his Interdepartmental
Committee to coordinate health and
welfare activities.
The report. prepared by the tech
nical committee on medical care,
was submitted to the President by
Josephine Roche, former Assistant
Secretary Of the Treasury in charge
of public health and chairman Of the
Interdepartmental Committee. She
described the recommendations as the
most important results of its three
years of work"
The study represented eight months
of intensive work by the technical
committee, comprising representatives
OF the United States Public Health
Service. the Children's Bureau and
the Social Security Board.
'Socialized Medicine" Avoided.
Although carefully avoiding,
throughout its 10000 words, mention
Of "socialized medicine" the report
repeatedly stressed the need for in
creased public provision to combat
illness, which is described as most
prevalent among the one-third to
one-half OF the population least able
to pay for medical care, though most
likely to need 1t because OF sub
standard living conditions.
The Technical Committee was at
pains to cite the brilliant advances
which have been made in scientific
knowledge" and improvements already
attained, but pointed out that its task
was to analyze the debit rather than
the credit side of the ledger" and
search out definite needs not met
through current practices"
The cost of illness and premature
death in this country" it said
amounts annually to about $l0,000,-
1000, including the combined
costs Of health services and medical
care. loss Of wages through unemploy-
ment resulting from disability and
the loss of potential future earnings
through death On an average day
of the year, there are 1000, 900 or more
persons disabled by illness. Every
year 100000 sick persons lose over
10000. 100000 days from work or Gus
tomary activities. Such fragmentary
but specific estimates are indicative
of the economic loss resulting from
sickness and premature death. but
they give no adequate indication OF
the incalculable social consequences
of i'll health"
Child Death Rate Deplored.
The committee, in its summary
pointed out that the combined ef-
fort OF private practitioners, of pub
lie health personnel functionine
through organized State and local
governmental health agencies, and
OF professional and lay organizations,
has brought about an encouraging re-
duction in morality operating chiefly
in the period Of childhood" but esti-
mated that half of the mothers and
children whose lives still are lost an
nually could be saved.
1t projected as an urgent. growing
need increased attention to the de-
generative ailments which attack the
Older groups of the population, since
this part Of the population is becom-
ing proportionately more numerous,
due to the progress in prolonging the
life expectancy of the young.
THE death rates from the acute
communicable diseases of childhood
have been greatly reduced" the re-
port stated. Further reduction can
be brought about by the application
of known measures of prevention and
cure. Appropriate treatment of chill
dren with rheumatic heart disease
will restore nearly two-thirds to nor
NAL life. Early treatment of children
with infantile paralysis is well known
to prevent much crippling.
The development of rapid methods
of determining the type of pneumonia
and the production Of sera for many