Montgomery County sentinel., 1962-05-31
MedicaI Care for the Aged

The arguments for and against President Kennedy's
proposal for medical of the aged forth rather
fully last week in The Sentinel with the ndersecreary
Of Health Education and Welfare explaining the pro-
views Of the Kennedy administration and three county
physicians representing the Montgomery County Medical
Society arguing against them.
So far as we have been able to ascertain this was one
Of the most elaborate presentations Of the issues under
taken by any publication and hope you read it. II
you didn't, urge you TO do so.
great deal Of public discussion this extremely i'm
portan subject is vital As pointed out last week. at
stake here is change in the basic structure of health
know it in the United States And surely the public
should fully inform itself subject Of such overriding
Importance.
What has happened Of course is this: American med
ica technques probably the best in the world have
tended our life expectancy to such degree that there
many more aged today than ever before. And the
quality Of medical has risen have medical costs
sharply Accordingly there many people with
the nities Of old age And the cost Of caring for them
is extremely high That in nutshell is what the prob
lem is all about.
The administration says and we agree that the prob
lem has not been solved And it says long step toward
the solution is medical Of the aged through social
security. We also agree with that.
The doctors have called the Kennedy proposal "cruel
hoax They contend would not provide adequate medi
cal care for the aged And they right Many persons
not under Social Security would not be benefited all
by the administration (King-Anderson blD proposal.
Those who under II would get limited hospital and
nursing home Of their private surgical medi
pect that all persons-wether they need help or not
would be required to participate in this extension Of the
Social Security law But the Kennedy plan does provide
great deal Of care.
We agree with the doctors that there is no prob
lem far the wealthy and the poor concerned Both
assured Of adequate medical the rich through
their own and the poor through welfare But
what the doctors have overlooked believe is the fact
that most people aren't rich and they aren't poor They're
incomes medium and skate dangerously close
to the borderne OF financial solvency Meager savings
can be wiped out by sudden medical surgical nursing
home bills amounting TO hundreds thousands of dollars
The principle Of the King Anderson bill is the i'm
pact of such Gripping blows.
We cannot subscribe to the doctors philosophy that
medical care under Social Security is wrong We accept
Social Security for such necessities food and housing
And medical care for the very ILL., is just much of
necessity
Nor we agree with the physicians that existing
medical care plans for the aged adequate today Their
argument Is that any person in real need get free
medical care And this is true. But in order to qualify
for free medical today one must be classified as
welfare case And the pride Of the average individual
too great to classify himself except under the
straits. Under Social Security the HEW undersecre-
tary points out he would consider medical treatment his
right because he and his employer would in effect have
paid for It, Hence there would be feeling of degradation
In acceptance of such treatment
We do not like certain provisions of the Kng-Ander-
son bill, particularly those which Enthusiastically
and in language clearly spelled out-give the government
control the way in which some physicians are trained
the records hospital should keep what accreditaton
standards shall be, and what hospital prices shall be
charged.
Insertion of this language is strange and gives some
credence to the doctors assertion that the KngAnder
son could lead to socazed medicine The language goes
iar beyond minimum standards normally prescribed by the
federal government In its dealings with and counties
and cities And this language that would give the federal
government control over hospitals should be stricken