The Nome nugget., 1949-04-11

(NeW York NeWS)
Monday. April II. l949

(New York News)
 The fight to ram a socialized medicine law through Congress is spreading pretty much all over the lot
 A few doctors opposing the American Medical As SOciaonS plans to- battle against state medicine to the last ditch. Some of the hotter Truman Administration medical specialists-regreatably we think-contlnue to try to smear the American physician while contrib utng few if solid facts figures to the argument
 As intelligent retOrt yet seen from the doc tors side the other evening in speech delivered in New York by Dr. William B. Rawls, president of the New York County Medical Society,"
 Dr. RaWS took as his main theme the proposition that "government-cOntroled medicine compulsory health insurance not free is not cheap but will cost the peO pie and will eventually bring financial ruin and complete control of the medical profession by politicians and will lead to sociaIzaGOn in other fields.
 He produced of facts and figures which this conclusion based. We reproduce few of these sta tiSticS here.
 At least nine countries are now struggling with pulSOry health inSuranceamOng them Britain, Russia and New Zealand Dr. RaWls took New Zealand as the nation where things should be nearly ideal pOsSi ble for the system to work.
 In that big island down under, there about 1030- GOO people, New ZeaIands Social Security Act says that eVery person is entitled without to himself to such medical attention (With certain eXemptons) is dinariy given by medical practitioners in the course ot general practice.
 There's something phony about that phrase "without cost to himself. Otherwise, why does lthe New Zea- land Social Security bill come to $1O4 900 900 year S68 per person? This money is taken from the people in taxes.
 In 1945 Qatest figures available here), 205O0O persons admitted to New Zealand public and pri- vate hospitals That is about 12 of the entire popu- lation
 If should have the same experience as New Zea- land under state medicine system established here our hospitals would have to take in almost 1800O00O pa tients year 12 2o of estimated population of 144OOO,OOO Average hospital stay of U $. patient is 20 days at cost which at present cannot be cut below S10 day and is usually That would mean at least $500O00O000 year in patients hospital expenses alone
 But we haven't enough hospital beds to handle 18,- 100000 patients 28 days per year per patient We'd need approximately 190,0O0 more beds than have To set up hospital bed costs $23,OO0 the age. The new bed construction would to almost four and half billion dollars.
 Drugs laboratory tests, administration costs, etc., would tack another three four billions onto the year. ly sociazed medicine bill Altogether he says "here is possible way for to get out for less than ten to f teen billion dollars every year"
 To repeat this money would not come from the air. the Surgeon Generals ha or the wealthy fraction of the population. The great bulk of it would from taxes levied on workers and employers-and probably hiked up every other year as the original cost inmates kept on proving too low
 But there is further catch in the satemedcine peo-