The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1954-01-18
,keScnlsH His
Plan
'ToCongress
~ FRANK CAREY


WASHINGTON II Presiden.
Eisenhower. an asowed Zoe o< what
he calls ''sccialiIed medicine, Y to.
day sends to Congress his program
for making heath services readily
available.
There was every indication the
message would propose the crea.
ton Of system Of federal re.
insurance Of private health insur.
ance plans.
He mentioned reinsurance 10
his recent State Of the Union mes.
sage, without defining what he had
in mind. II Is generally understood
to be q system wherein the federal
government, within certain hmita.
tions, would insure private plans
for hospital and medical care 70
the extent Of protecting IN indivi-
dual plan from being wiped out by
a run Of heavy claims. This might
help some plans offer broader ben
efits.
Eisenhower has repeatedly blast.
ed the type Of health Insurance
plan backed by former President
Truman, saying that such q plan
would lead to "assembly-line treat.
ment'' for patients. Truman had
favored instituting = system d
compulsory health insurance, fl
nanced by payroll taxes on both
employer and employee, with the
entire program administered BY
the federal government. Legisla-
tive proposals to introduce such q
system have repeatedly failed. The
opposition was spearheaded by the
American Medical Assn.
Authoritative sources said the
Presidents health message today
would also include calls for:
/. Increasing by at least several
million dollars IN each case the
funds presently appropriated for
federal research on such major ills
as cancer and heart disease, and
possibly mental disease.
3. Tipping from q million to 30
million dollars a year the federal
governments present appropria-
tion for vocational rehabilitation
programs carried on in the sep
arate states for people disabled by
disease or injury. The states put
up 81 for every 81 appropriated by
the federal government for this
purpose.
Another recommendation consid-
cred likely would be for broaden
ing the Hospital Construction Act
chill Burton) to allow federal aid
i'm construction Of nursing and con-
yalescent homes, diagnostic cen
tiers and rehabilitation centers.
there is no specific provision for
these under the present act.
The President has also ex-
pressed desire to have the act
broadened so as Ito assist in the
development of adequate facilities
for the chemically ILL.,"
On Capitol Hill, where the House
Commerce Committee is holding
hearings on ways to help people
meet costs Of Illness, a spokesman
for a number of nonprofit health
groups said the biggest need is
for preventive health care and pre-
payment of doctors bills.
Jerry Voorhis, secretary of the
Cooperative Health Federation Of
America, said in prepared test
mony much sickness that cuts
heavily into the family budget
could be kept away by treatment
ahead of time. But it is these "first
calls" upon a doctor which are
most risky to health insurance
from a commercial standpoint. he
said.
what we need most Of all is a
method whereby we can pay our
doctors for keeping the people
we'll" Voorhis said. AT present
the problem is that doctors gen.
orally receive their income only
when people get sick, and the sick
err the people are, tn bigger the
doctors income. That is really
backwards"
Voorhis said he favored groups
Of people attacking the problem
voluntarily, through principles of
risk-sharing and mutual aid, but
he called for two types of gov
aid:
1. To medical schools, to help
ease what he called a national
shortage Of doctors and other med
ical professionals.
2. Low-interest loans to volun-
tary health plans, to assist them
in getting medical facilities.
ID M !" 4