WARMLY WELCOMED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 107, 8 May 1941, Page 10

WARMLY WELCOMED

HOSPITAL RATING

PROPOSED NEW SYSTEM

(P.A.> MASTERTON, this day. "The statement made at New Plymouth by the Minister of Health, the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer that we should be able to evolve a more equitable system of rating whereby the upkeep of hospitals would be a national and not a local cost, will receive a warm welcome from all ratepayers in New Zealand,"' said Mr. T. Jordan, president of the Municipal Association. "The Municipal and Counties' Associations have for some years been striving to evolve such a scheme, and we are definitely convinced that the only equitable system of rating for hospital expenditure is by levy on wages and salaries. This principle has been adopted in part under the Social Security Act. Under that Act hospital expenditure to the extent of 6/ pe* day per patient was raised by the tax on ■wages and salaries. When the bill was before the Committee of the House of Representatives, over which Mr. Nordmeyer presided. I stated on behalf of our association that we believed this was the only equitable method of raising money, and the Minister of Finance, the Hon. \V. Nash, readily agreed, but, to my question why was it not being completely carried out. he replied that it could not all be done at once. Later a combined deputation from the two associations waited upon the then Minister of Health, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser. and again stressed the present injustice and put forward the remedy now suggested. The official replv was that the Government was not prepared to give effect to it, but no reasons were given at that time.

"Encouraging Statement" "An additional charge of slightly more than Id in the £ in the social security levy would have taken the load off ratepayers. Mr. Nordmeyers statement will encourage us to go on with our efforts. "It may be of interest to the public to know that the Government subsidy to hospital boards is based on an extraordinary and complicated method of computation, under which the amount paid to boards varies from 14/ in the £ in some districts to 26/ in others. This should be borne in mind when comparisons are being made between the financial position of boards in various districts. "On the question of national or local cost of hospitals, it will also be of interest to the public to know that the Government War Expenses Fund has not yet undertaken the

total responsibility for sick and wounded soldiers in hospitals. We hare urged the justice of this, but so far the Government is paying in official language 'something further than 6/ per day per patient" out of the Social Security Fund. In my district this 'something' i≤ 5/ per day. whereas the secretary-manager of* the Hospital Board states the amount should be 14/ per day if the full cost is to be met. The remaining 9/ per day per soldier is at present a charge" on ratepayers. This is obviously unjust."