The Wilmington morning star., 1947-12-14
Around Capitol Square
(Continued From Page Six>

mission decided there was no
much sense in a bill of $40 fol
setting a broken limb in one IN
stance and a bill for SIS for the
other. So a schedule of fees was
established. Frankly this sched'
ule was nearer tn minimum
than the maximum charges
which had been billed; and there
seems to be no doubt that II
some instances the commission
has been arbitrary and unrea'
sonable in refusing to recognize
peculiar conditions. Upon the
whole, however, major objection
has been to the principle of gov
ernmental fixation of fees
savoring of socialized medicine
rather than to fees allowed II
all except a few cases involving
special considerations. Sched
ules have also been adopted fo1
X-rav and other hospital treat
ment of relatively standard type
A few hospitals protest these
rates but most hospitals, like
majority of lawyers, are going
along wi tn the commission
schedules as approximately ade-
quate.
SPECIFIC - The case which
came to attention of this report.
er and occasioned investigation
had to do with a hospital bill
of $25 which had been reduced
by the industrial commission to
$40. The difference was in fees
allowed for X-ray pictures OF
two broken arms. The commits
sion schedule which has been
in effect for more than two years
provides payment of $3.50 for
arm X-ray made by regis
tered expert there's some big
and unspellable word for them)
and S. for pictures made by
non registered technician
Bills in the instant case called
for $40 for two X-rays;
commission cut the amount to
$3.50 each, total of SIS for the
two. Maybe it was not enough,
maybe it was too much; in any
event it was the amount fixed
several years ago and which
hospitals generally had ap-
proved as fair.
INSURANCE - The compen-
sation act goes into right much
detail about responsibility of en-
ployers and insurance conpa-
MES. If big enough (and many
North Carolina corporations, the
for $40 each for two X-rays; the
state itself and most of the coun.
ties and municipalities elect t.
be self insurers) the employer
can carry his own insur rance-
but he must prove ability to pay
off upon demand. Other employ
er companies and individual
prefer to pay casualty insurance
companies for carrying the risk
There have been instances wher
it appeared that injured work
ers, juries, lawyers, doctors ane
hospitals assumed tie attitud
that a big corporation was pay
ing the bill - so why not soc,
'em. Commission officials sa
! these instances have been rar
and are decreasing in number
Their experience is tn mos
people, professional and other
wise, desire to be fair.
STORMY - The foregoin
paragraphs might indicate law
yers and nurses and hospital ad
the compensation insuranc
front. 1t isn't. Almost any tim
storm signals may show up. Th
wind will be started-if at all
by the doctors. Whether the law
yers and nursse and hospital ad
ministrators will join to contes
the "socialistic" formula cur
rently in vogue is an unanswer
able question. And what will hap
pen to the injured workers com
pensation if the system is chang
ed is also speculative PROPOSE
ton. Brief survey of state de
partments having direct connec
ton with industrial workers in
dicates the workers are yer,
well satisfied with the poll
cy now in effect.