Evening star., 1954-05-27
Chest Hospital
Fund Proposal
Bypasses HSA
UCS Committee
Asks Council Be
Disbursinq Unit

Council take over adminiStra-
ton of some $780, 900 spent an
nually for hospital services by
the area Community Chests.
The proposal set off a con-
troversy in its preliminary form
months ago, mainly between the
Executive Board of the District
Medical Society and some mem
bers of the committee. The
clash arises out of the proposal
to relieve the Hospital Service
Agency of handling the funds as
it does now.
The report of the committee
explained:
THE Community Chest wants
to give what money it has for
disqualification to the hospitals
and not to an independent
agency or any one else.
Rather than give it to the
individual hospitals, it asks that
the hospitals designate a single
organ capable of receiving and
dealing with the money. In
actual fact, this means simply
improving an existing organ
(the Hospital Council which has
representatives on it from every
hospital in the area) to fulfill
the job.
For and BY Hospitals.
Finally, the Chest believes
that any other arrangements,
such as central certifying pro-
cedureS (Chest funds are paid
to hospitals, through HSA, for
people certified unable to pay
their own medical expenSes)
should be done for and by the
hospitals, because the Chest
does not want to, and does not
believe it should deal on hos
pitalization with two separate
organizations.
"The central certifying agency
(HSA) therefore could become a
unit of the Hospital Council or
should be responsible to it under
contract. This is the first and
basic recommendation. All the
others flow from it and are de-
pendent upon it."
The report was presented to
the UCS Health Section today.
The report must be acted upon
by the Health Section, by the
UCS Executive Committee and
finally the UCS Board of Trus-
tees before it is adopted.
Not Unanimous.
Fisher Howe, chairman of the
committee which has been study
ing the problem for 18 months,
said the recommendations do not
have the unanimous approval of
either the committee or the
community.
In fact, he said, one commit
tee member, Lawrence M. Proc
tor, withdrew rather than con-
fuse the issue by submitting q
minority report. In a letter ac-
companying the report, Mr..
Proctor explained:
MY premise is that the HSA
is a going concern that has
served the community we'll for
20 years; THAT its records, per-
sonnel and financial assets
should be preserved for all to
utilize, that the outlying areas
wish to continue it in business
and that there is nothing that
cannot be done equally we'll or
better by the HSA including
membership in the family of
Chest agencies and full RESPONSE
bll1ty and accountability for the
entire hospital program"
Six Area Chests.
The report pointed out that
each of the six Community
Chests in the Washington area
is independent and autonomous.
In discussions with the six
Chests, this was indicated:
Arlington and MONTGOMERY
Counties have their own certify
ing agencies apart from HSA and
apparently wish no change. Alex
andria and Fairfax County. who
use HSA, consider the present
arrangement adequate and ex-
pressed considerable disagree
ment. Prince Georges County
had no definite view on the pro-
poSal.
The report said the District
Medical Society disapproved the
changes suggested, while the
District Health Department ap-
proved. 1t added:
"The HSA Board, perhaps un-
derstandably, was reluctant to
undertake measures which called
for its own elimination"
Mixed Reaction.
The report said in discussing
this with hospital representa-
tiveS. the committee found "lit-
tie reluctance to pursue a move
in the direction of the commit
tees recommendation and in
some quarters there was real
enthusiasm.
The report pointed out that
the hospitals have not to any
real extent assumed or asserted
responsibility for MANAGEMENT
of the Chest disqualification
program and funds. The under
lying theory of the recon-
mendation. it explained, is that
the user Of the funds-the hos
pitals-should be responsible for
the administration of the funds.
This. the report added, is the
theory and practice followed
with all other service agencies
attached to the Chest.
The report added:
I'm short, the committee could
find no reason why the agency
(HSA) should be independent of
the hospitals which are expend-
ING the Chest Decentralization