INSURANCE ACT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1492, 15 July 1912, Page 5

INSURANCE ACT.

DOCTORS AND THEIR FEES,

By- Telegraph—Press Association-Copyright •■'■ . i ■ London, July 12. Already ten and a half million insurance cards.have been'issued, representing "O.per/centuin of thoso insurablo under the National Insurance Act, which comes into force in.a , few days.: , . ■ The Executive, Committee of the National Medical Union, at a meeting in Manchester, unanimously passed a. resolution that, further negotiations with tie Government would bo usel<ss, and tha^ ' they should oeaso forthwith. :■ In connection with the Insurance Act, the Government has been furnished with a,report showing that doctors' earnings in Darlington, Dariven, Dundee, Norwich,.and St. Albans are its. 2d, p*T head of the population per annum. ' TO'COME INTO FORCE TO-DAY. , In tlie House of. Commons recently,' Mr. ■' C., F.- G. : Masterman, Under-Secretary to the Home Office, in replying to criticisms of the Insurance Act, said the Act would come into force on July 15; never had he - contemplated any other date. All the great .friendly societies were: very anxious ' for HieAot to come into operation as mion ;'as possible... .Postponement would be dis- • astrous to members of, friendly societies end all those, who were making preparations for' the Act to come into force as well as those who would by delay be deprived of. benefits, until a later date, iilembership cards, were ready and would be , 'distributed next month. Schemes which had been considered with the employers on the 'Advisory Committee for -bulk payment in the case of .large- employers would fllso bo issued,- probably next week; . . \ , ■' , ..■:..' He hoped before long to be able to announce that .societies nail been approved representing something like -.(,500,(100 of . injured persons, in addition to industrial and oolteoting societies, and companies winch held about G0,000,000 life policies, whoso number of insured persons could not then .bo ascertained. This number of approved : persons would probably increase.: by several hundred Thousands every week, .and, he would bo surprised if there were not '10,000,000 persons who had selected their society and obtained their cards by July 15.; Then there would be at least three..months for tho remainder of tne-inaiirablo population to coino in , By .the , end of 1913,' after benefits had been in operation for a year, it was calculated by tho Government actuaries that .800,000 mothers would have' received maternity benefit to the value of 30s. by Tight of: their .husbands' insurance, and another 100,000 mothers by right of their 'ownj'insurance.; .that 2,500,000 men and women would have received sick-pay from the national insurance scheme, that at least ■ 230,000 suffering from tuberculosis would have received treatment suitable to their condition, and he thought that a very largo number of them would have ' leen restored to life after a .sentence of death as a result of the Insurance Act: