Evening star., 1941-02-13
2DoctorsNamed
Foes Of Prepaid
Medical Care
Dissented in Report of
Committee of 81,
Jury Is Told
BY HAROLD b. ROGERS.


A Federal jury in the District
Court antitrust medical case today
heard a prosecution witness testify
that the 48-member committee on
the cost of medical care had recon-
mended as its principal proposal for
improvement of the health of the
American people prepayment OF
medical care in association with
group medical practice.
Defendants in the case, including
the American Medical Association,
the Medical Society of the District
of Columbia, and 20 physicians are
charged with conspiracy to restrain
Group Health Association OF this
city, a medical cooperative OF Gov
ernment employees which is working
on such a prepayment group prac-
tice basis.
Results of the recommendations
Of the Committee on the Cost OF
Medical Care were presented to the
court by DR.. Michael M. Davis of
New York City of the Committee
on Research in Medical Economics
who had been a member of the Com
mittee on the Cost of Medical Care.
Dr.. Davis holds a degree of doctor OF
philosophy.
Signed Minority Report.
The witness testified two of the
defendants in the antitrust case
who were members of the Commit
tee on the Cost of Medical Care,
had signed a minority report OBJ
jecting to the principle OF prepay
ment of medical care. They were
DR.. Olin West, secretary and general
manager of the American Medical
Association, and DR.. Arthur G.
Christie of Washington.
The minority report, signed by
these two defendants along with
several others, DR.. Davis said, "crltl-
cized group prepayment as tending
toward undesirable contract practice
and various evils, and crltlclzlng
group medical practice
The Committee on the Cost OF
Medical Care, DR.. Davis explained,
was organized in 1887 to include
physicians, dentists, nurses, social
workers "and men of general public
work" Chairman of the committee
was DR.. Ray Lyman Wilbur, former
Secretary of the Interior. Twenty
five of the 49 members were doctors,
he said, and IA of the 25 doctors were
in private practice. The majority
report of the committee was sighed
by IS of the 48 members, including
II of the 25 doctors on the commit
tee.
Findings In 20 Volumes.
The findings of the committee
we're published in 20 volumes and
the recommendations for improve
ment of medical care occupied one
of these volumes, he said.
One of the outstanding findings
of the committee, he recalled, was
that "a relatively heavy burden falls
on a small proportion of families
when they come to pay for the cost
of medical care.
Long before the controversy be-
tween Group Health Association ana
the organized medical profession
reached the stage of an indictment
round table conferences and private
conversations had taken place, IL
was revealed in court yesterday IN
an effort to work out some kind OF
cooperation. But all efforts failed.
Doctors Plan Outlined.
The doctors on the one hand, ac-
cording to testimony of William F.
Penniman, first president of G. H. A,
had offered to cooperate in a plan
whereby the practice of medicine
would be carried on by the mem
bers of the Medical Society as in
dividual physicians, but G. H. A.
would have been relegated to that
of only collection agency"
He said this proposal was ad-
vanced by DR.. Robert Arthur Hooe.
It was not acceptable to G. H. A,
Mr.. Penniman testified; neither were
the plans of G.. H. A. acceptable
to the Medical Society and its rep
resentatives. Dr. Hooe, who was
asked to rise in the courtroom for
was said by the wit
ness to have been chairman of the
Medical Society Committee on Com
pensation, Contract and Industrial
Medicine. The Medical Society sug-
gested through DR.. Hooe that G.
H. A. need not have clinic nor
staff, but could use local doctors,
and pay them out of the dues col
lected. DR.. Hooe emphasized, Mr..
Penniman explained that this plan
would give patients the free choice
of physician, subject which has
been one of the most controversial
of all issues in the trial.
Il told him." Mr.. Penniman eX-
planned to the jury" that this would
only make us a collection agency,
and not at all along lines we con-
templated establishing.
Transcript of Meeting Admitted.
The controversy between G.. H. A.
and the local leaders of the Medical
Society was revealed more intimate
ly yesterday when Justice James M.
Proctor admitted to evidence rs
page transcript of meeting on July
26, 1887, at the Offices of the Fed
eral Home Loan Bank Board, at
tended by representatives of both
sides.
DR.. Francis x. McGovern, chair
man of the Doctors Committee,
turned his Craftsmanship for the
meeting over to DR.. Henry G. Mac
Atee, who is not defendant in
the case, while G. H. AS chief
spokesmen were Mr.. Penniman and
Raymond r. Zimmerman. trustees
of the cooperative.
This evidence showed that the
doctors were in sympathy with the
principle of spreading costs of ILL
ness over a large group to help re-
duce family budgets, but they diff
fered widely with G. H. A. spokes-
men on the way such costs should
be spread.
One doctor brought up the "eco-
nomic" issue, which would be in
volved If G. H. A. were able to take
over one-third of the patients in
Washington, resulting in an 'ex-
odus," he said, of large percentage
of the private practitioners of the