Evening star., 1945-03-24
Group disqualification
Extends Membership
To Suburban Area

Group disqualification, Inc, has
decided to extend the benefits of its
prepayment plan for meeting hos
pltal bills to groups of employed
persons within the entire Washing
ton Metropolitan area, it was an
nounced today by President Joseph
H. Hines. Heretofore the system
had been confined to workers within
the Districts boundaries.
Decision to extend the system was
made at the tenth annual meeting
of CHI yesterday at the Brookings
Institution, Mr.. Hines said. At the
same time it was agreed further to
broaden the scope of membership to
include smaller groups of employees
with minimum of five persons, in
stead OF the previous minimum OF
10.
Reciprocal Relations"
These two changes in the poten-
tlal membership, Mr.. Hines said
should open the doors of the system
to many more persons who have
been desirouS of taking advantage
OF Such protection.
CHI also agreed to establish "re-
clprocal relations" with other recog-
n1zed prepayment disqualification
plans throughout the country. Mr.
Hines announced. This means that
persons coming to Washington from
any otker part of the country with
a membership in some other recog-
n1zed similar organization can be
accepted into CHI, if they so desire,
without the formalities of a physical
exapination and other requirements
for new members. Likewise, Mr.
Hines said, other group hospitaliza-
ton plans accept as members per-
sons who belong to CHI here.
Reports at the annual meeting
showed that there now are 100000
participating members" of CHI.
II Hospitals Included.
Operating. now through contracts
with II hospitals in the Washing
ton Metropolitan Area, CHI receives
its funds from group treasurers in
both the Government and private
business, and pays hospital bills of
It's members in these II hospitals.
If CHI members are travelling
throughout the country and meet
with accidents or sudden illness
considered of an emergency nature,
requiring disqualification. the men,
bers are reimbursed for certain ex-
penseS of such disqualification else
where.
Extension of the membership be-
yond the boundaries of the District
for the first time, Mr.. Hines ex-
planned, will ring into potential
membership groups within that
area in Virginia and Maryland con-
sidered by the Census Bureau to be
within the Washington Metro
politan Area. This is a specifically
defined area, with official bounda-
ries.
Receipts from members through
their group treasurers during the
past year of CHI amounted to about
Sl,5oo,000, President Hines an
nounced.
Officers Reelected.
CHI, which was set up through
cooperation of medical, hospital
and civic leaders in Washington,
reelected all officers at it's annual
including Mr.. Hines, who
has been president since the organi-
zation was started. Other officers
are: George H. O'Connor, lawyer
and title insurance executive, first
vice president; Charles H. Drayton,
lawyer and president of Children's
Hospital, second vice president; DR..
Francis x. McGovern, surgeon and
District Medical Society official,
secretary. and Sidney F.. Taliaferro,
former District Commissioner, who
is vice president and trust officer of
Riggs National Bank, treasurer
These three trustees were reelected
for another term: Gen. Frank T.
Hines, administrator of Veterans
Affairs; Frank Jelleff, civic leader
and department store head, and Mr..
Taliaferro.