Evening star., 1948-06-17
Prepaid Health Security

To the Edtor of The Star:
Both major political parties approach their
nominating conventions with cynical records
for keeping campaign promises in respect to
national health security. To date neither
party has done anything more than debunk
the claims and proposals of the other. So
once again the reasonable hope of discouraged
taxpayers for dependable self-help in meeting
the bankrupting costs of health hazards be-
comes the promissory note of politicians
Despite past default, both parties will make
pledges concerning future legislative per-
formance. 1t would take little ingenuity for
them to provide a solvent self help program
that would meet our reasonable expectations.
None of us wants costly, inefficient political
bureaucracy which will make doctors inditfer-
ent, salaried ime-servers Neither do We want
continued deficit spending in the healing arts.
If present deficit spending continues We will
only aggravate the critical shortages in hos
pital beds and the trained personnel needed
to service them. The crying need Is to give
the healing arts dependable financial suf-
f1cency.
The Blue Gross and Blue Shield hospital and
medical service plans demonstrate how this
may be done. BY limiting the risk and spread
ing its cost to the shoulders of many we can
prepay self-help at relatively low cost. This
is sound, solvent insurance principle that is
the financial backbone of competitive capital
ism.. Why not adapt it to the basic health
security needs Of all?
This could be done by our Nation becoming
the financial guarantor of similar elf-help
plan with limited liability. This limited liabil-
ity would cover the minimal health security of
childbearing, catastrophe illness and the de-
generative diseases and malignancles of age
Such coverage would give social suthclency to
existing plans These plans cannot remain
solvent and provide protection for poor risks,
the exceptional catastrophe or those with
existing disease. These are the very persons
beyond the self-help of existing voluntary
health security plans
The basic proposal then Is to spread the
cost of indemnifying the selected hazards to
the people OF the entire Nation. For the risks
selected the indemnity would be adequate and
would extend coverage on q noncancellable
and nonselective basis There need be no de-
parture from the present practice OF patients
doctors and hospitals exercising free choice OF
one another The health risk and the method
of preparing its minmal cost would be the only
things nationalized. Economic survival OF
doctors and hospitals still would depend upon
ability to serve patients satisfactorily in free
competition with all qualified eligibles.
If the Nation becomes guarantor of a low
cost self-help insurance plan, these results are
predictable: Both doctors and hospitals will be
attracted to communities where the need now
is great but economic survival is difficult or
even impossible knowing that fair costs OF
basic service will be met hospitals can mod
ernize and plan ahead. The technical skills OF
those servicing the healing arts will become
dependable career instead of a precarious phil
anthropy But the greatest benefit will be
the new confidence and security it will provide
for ALL When illness strikes you will know you
have prepaid your survival. That survival is
not dependent on charity or governmental
paternalism. When you were we'll and fortu-
nate, you carried your share of the common
burden In misfortune, the whole nation
pledges your recovery. BY all of us sharing
the common burden in health, each of us pays
his own way in sickness and distress.
THOMAS E. MATTINGLY, MD.