Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-05-17
Meeting Set Tonight
On Drastic Curbs on
Chest Aid 10 Hospitals
By George Beveridqe

I1OoPlCdI koCL WIG A6CllIJ lcducl .
will meet tonight to consider fast
action on drastic limitations of
Community Chest help to some
types of needy hospital patients,
it was learned today.
The Star disclosed yesterday
that limitations to help offset a
deficit in funds to pay hospitals
were under consideration by off,
Gals of the Chest and HSA, the
agency that decides whether pa
tents are eligible for Chest aid.
Chauncey G. Parker, president
Of the chest federation. declared
last night that the "only answer"
to the insufficient funds on hand
lies in requiring the HSA to
limit each months Qualifications
for hospital care of semi-medi-
cally indigents to the money on
hand each month, in the hospitali-
cation fund"
ALLEGATION Committed.
Despite this restriction, how
ever, HSA already has committed
It's entire ALLEGATION from the
chest for the month of May,
officials said.
This placed officials Of the
agency in the position of exceed
ing the allotment if it continued
to certify patients today for hos
pital care at Chest expense.
However, Willard c. Smith.
HSA head, said today he has no
alternative but to continue certi-
flying patients until a meeting
tonight of the HSA Executive
Committee.
In view of this expectation of
exceeding the allotment. Mr..
Smith said, the HSA board may
have to consider even more dras-
tic measures than those already
proposed to save money. One
possibility is that the agency may
stop certifying patients for clinic
care at hospitals.
Proposals Studied.
Proposals for limiting certifica-
ton already under consideration,
it was reported. include placing
a limit on the. number of hos
pital days care for which HSA
will pay hospitals, and barring
from chest-aid patients who came
here from outside the area of
chest federation solicitation, pa
tients who are injured in acct
dents where there is a possibility
of claims and patients whose
benefits under Group Hospitiliza-
ton, Inc. policies have run out.
Last year HSA reduced the
agreed rates of payment to hos
pitfalls when it exceeded monthly
allotments from the Chest.
In his statement, Mr.. Parker
made clear that HSA should con-
tinue to pay hospitals at the in
creased rates agreed on this year
and to trim the number of pa
tents who can be helped by the
Chest.
The financial problem" he de-
clared, grows out of the fact that
the Community Chest Federation,
in all of Its component parts, must
live within it's budget. The hos
pitalization fund, one of those
parts. must also live within its
budget"
Chest Goal Reduced.
Mr.. Parker said the hospital
fund was cut because of the re-
duced Chest campaign goal and
failure to meet the goal
THE Chest federation's present
unallocated fund totals but SAB
1876 with other needs such as child
care and family welfare request
ing additional ALLEGATIONS through
the six member Chests" Mr..
Parker declared.
He added that if HSA continued
to certify patients for care on the
same basis as during the first four
months of this year, there would
be "a deficit of approximately
$150,000 by the end of the year."
The Chest president said in
dividual hospitals have given
assurance" that they will CON
tinue to service emergency cases
Of semimedically INDECENT persons
and will consider the needs of
semimedically INDECENT applicants
who may be among those the HSA
cannot certify because of current
budget limitations.