Evening star., 1938-12-11
The Doctors Plan

Inc MUTUAL f1edlCQ OeTVlCe RAN
which the Medical Society of the
District of Columbia has submitted
to its membership obviously is de-
signed to Offset the inroads into
private medical practice here of the
much-debated Group Health As
sociation, Inc.
1t represents a rather far-reaching
concession to the sort of "socialized
medicine" represented by the latter
organization. It may be considered
as evidence of the desire of the
Districts private practitioners to give
the public the kind of medical service
it wants regardless of the convictions
of the doctors themselves. There can
be little doubt that much of the new
plan is contrary to the beliefs of
many of Washington's physicians,
especially of the older men who have
had long experience with human
nature and who can testify to the
failure of so many health insurance
schemes in the past.
In the new plan the medical
society tries to surmount the out
standing obstacle to health insur-
ance schemes and preserve the right
of the insured person to choose his
own physician-the great safeguard
against the establishment of
medical monopoly which the Amer
lean Medical Society has fought for
the last quarter of century. This
can only be done if, under this plan,
all or the great majority of the
members of the local medical society
agree to participate in it and are
sincere in their agreement.
This attempt to preserve the right
of free choice of physician consti-
tutes one outstanding difference
between the proposed Mutual Health
Service" and Group Health Associa-
ton, Inc. If it succeeds the Medical
Society of the District of Columbia
can be credited with solving an
extremely difficult problem.
Another outstanding difference is
that the plan of the doctors ex-
cludes single persons earning more
than $4,000 and married persons with
an income in excess of $4,000, except
that an additional 5000 of income is
permitted the latter for each de-
pendent. Group Heath Association,
Inc, has no such restriction. So long
as man can pay his dues G. H. A.
does not care whether he is earning
a thousand dollars year or ten
million.
So long as class distinctions are
made, it is very unlikely that there
will be any altogether successful
solution of the socialized medicine
problem. In this case the loose
critics of organized medicine are apt
to conclude that the doctors are
actuated by desire to preserve the
fees they receive from the rich, in
Guiding, as can be demonstrated by
recent income statistics, the rather
limited number of Americans making
more than $4,000 a year. Whatever
the motive, it seems unwise on the
part of the physicians to include
such a provision. It weakens their
case.
In the final analysis there can be
no empirical settlement of this prob
lem of medical care. It can be re-
solved only by experiment after
experiment, the majority of which
will show high percentage of fail
ure. But from few of them which
stand the acid test in actual practice
will come the timbers of the future
relations of medicine and the public.
The Medical Society of the District
Of Columbia has made a sweeping,
and doubtless extremely painful,
concession. Whether it has made q
wise move is a question for future
determination.