Evening star., 1938-07-21
HEALTHPR0GRAM
TO Be DRAWNF0R
CONGRESS ACTION
Medical Profession Counsel
Invited in Developing
National Plan.
OBJECTIONS OF A. M. A.
PROMPT ASSURANCES
Conference Closes With Official
View of Doctors to Be
Determined Later.

Recommendations for new legiSla
ton to carry out at least part of th'
controversial national health program
considered at the three-day Nationa
Health Conference at the MayfloWe
Hotel, closing late yesterday, will b'
prepared before Congress meets il
January
This was forecast by Miss Josephine
Roche, chairman of the President!
Interdepartmental Committee to Co
ordinate Health and Welfare Activi.
ties. which sponsored the conference
at the call of President Roosevelt.
Details of these new proposals fol
legislation remain to be worked out
Miss Roche explained, after further
careful examination of the five-point
program, in view of the variant views
expressed at the conference, and aftel
further advice and counsel expected to
be received from the agencies repre-.
sented.
Invites Counsel.
I'm preparing proposals for legis-
lative action" Miss Roche told the
conference in her closing remarks late
yesterday, the Interdepartmental
Committee hopes that it may have the
benefit of further counsel from all of
you. individually or collectively as well
as from others who may not have
been here today, and whose sugges-
tions and help will be of benefit to the
formulation of such program"
In her farewell to the conference,
Miss Roche put forward several assur-
ances apparently to meet some of the
objections raised by leaders of the
American Medical Association. who
had been outspoken in attacks on the
general idea of national program. as
advanced by the Technical Committee
on Medical Care.
For instance, while saying she
thought every one agrees that a ma
tional health program should be de-
veloped," she declared that it must of
course safeguard and advance the quail
ity of medical service; that point is
not debatable" Spokesman for the
A. M. A. had made much of the issue
Of quality" of medical service.
Emissions Local Action.
There is agreement" Miss Roche
continued. that a national health
program should certainly take account
of varying regional and local situa-
tions. 1t will be noted that none of
the recommendations of the Technical
Committee contemplateS a Federally
operated program, but on the contrary
the underlying purpose of each of these
recommendations has been to use Fed
eral funds to equalize the financial
burdens among the States, to stimu-
late local planning and local action, to
develop for all of the people in all
parts of the country opportunities for
health and medical care which now
are enjoyed by the more fortunate
groups of our people"
What the organized medical pro-
fession will do next on the issue re-
manned one of the questions of vital
interest not only to the physicians of
the country, but also to the Federal
agencies planning to frame new legis-
lation.
The A. M. A. delegates plan to
formulate a report on health con-
ference and present it to the board of
trustees of the A. M. A., it was ex-
planned last night by Dr. Arthur w.
Booth, chairman of the board and one
of the delegates.
Meeting Slated in Fall.
This will probably be an official,
written report, to be considered care
fully by the board of trustees and
later referred by them to the House of
Delegates of the association, DR.. Booth
explained. The House of Delegates,
he predicted, would meet some time
in the fall for consideration of this
and other matters. Until this govern
ing body takes action he said he could
not predict what the future position
of the medical association would be
toward the proposals.
Personally, however, DR.. Booth said
he felt the association might be willing
to go on with any reasonable plans.
He carefully qualified this statement,
however, declaring that as matter
of fact. Il don't know what the House
Of Delegates will do"
From distinguished Catholic medi-
cal leader, the Rev. Alphonse M.
Schwtalla, president of the Catholic
Hospital Association of the United
States and Canada, dean of the medi-
cal school of st. Louis University and
editor of Hospital Progress, came a
carefully worded statement after the
conference expressing commentator
for the achievement" of the confer
ence for focusing attention on health |
needs, but raising serious doubts, and |
characterlzing some of the proposed |
program as too dangerous an expert
ment."
Parran Hopes for Legislation.
DIR. Thomas Parran, Surgeon Gen.
eral OF the United States Public |
Health Service, when asked after the
conference if he thought new Iegisla-
ton would result, replied: Il hope
so"
Opinion was widely divided during |
the three days over the feasibility of |
the proposed five-point program.
Opposition came principally from the
A. M. A. leaders, from some officials |
OF the New York State government,
and from some individual physicians.
Support was marshalled from larger |
number of groups, including, of
course, the five Government agencies
represented in the Interdepartmental
Committee; both big labor organiza-
tions, farm groups, officials of public
welfare agencies, a college president,
editors. some college pro-
fessors and others.