The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1944-05-12

sponsorship OF prepaid nOSpltal care
has spread to other states notably
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota and Oklahoma, until now
there are Is in which farm bureau
federation members may take adj
vantage of Blue Cross plans through
their unit groups. In December,
1912, the American Farm bureau at
it's annual meeting in Chicago wrote
into it's nationwide program of work
strong Endorsement Of the nom
profit group hospital care plans and
other rural health developments
that lend themselves to farm family
unit action.
However, the farm bureau is not
the only agency through which the
hospital plan is being carried to the
farms of the nation. In Hillsda1e
county, Mich, the Farmers Mutual
Fire Insurance company, CO
operative, was used as the already
established group through which to
put the hospital plan into operation.
In northern Illinois, the Northern
Illinois Hospital service, serving IL
counties and their small towns,
ranging in population from 300 to
1900, have worked in cooperation
with Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions
clubs, with women's clubs, PTAs,
Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and
churches, farm bureaus, home
bureaus and oranges. AS result in
these II counties more than 1850
farm families, representing 1850
individuals are Blue Cross members.
Combined Business Groups.
In North Carolina a great many Of
the small groups in the small towns
are enrolled as combined business
groups. This type of enrolment
means combining many small bust
nesses into group, getting 70 per
cent or more Of the employees in
these various small concerns to be-
come members of the Blue Cross.
In some of these combined groups,
as many as 800 persons join. These
groups consist of drug stores, gro
Gerry stores, warehouses etc. The
FSA has also been active in cooper
ating with the Blue Cross plans in
North Carolina and other states in
bringing prepaid hospital care to
low income families.
Indicative of the way in which
small town and rural America is
enlisting under the Blue Cross BAN
ner are these facts taken at random
from many examples. In one Iowa
town of 592 population, AS or rs per
cent have enrolled in hospital care
plan and in another town of 4, 405, a
total of 2,214 or so per cent have
joined. In one Wisconsin community
the local power company acts as
collector and renting agent and
the people Of the community who
have enrolled pay for this insur-
ance along with their monthly cleo
trio bills. This town has popula-
ton of 1000 and out of a possible
$50 persons employed in the town,
155 have enrolled, there being los
family contracts and Al individual
contracts.
Such instances could be multi
piled indefinitely. From all of which
it is evident that rural America is
indeed "shrewd buyers and quick to
take to something once its value
has been proved" AS for proving its
value, ask the Blue Cross member
in New York state who was recently
hospitalized for SO days. His con-
tract covered him for % days of
one contract year and % days Of
the new year, total of 81 days.
His total hospital bill was $300.55.
When he was ready to be discharged
from the hospital, he was handed q
hospital service credit of $288.30.
That meant he had to pay in cash
to the hospital only $12.25.
cts a thrill that comes once in
a lifetime,'' he said. And then, quite
naturally, he added, II think hos
pital service is a great idea"