SEEKING A WAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 127, 1 June 1938, Page 12

SEEKING A WAY

NATIONAL INSURANCE

PROGRESS ,'N AUSTRALIA

CHANGES IN BILL

(From "The Post's" Representative.

SYDNEY, May 27. Yielding to strong public opinion, ' r ' the Federal Government has decided to make important amendments of 3S its national insurance scheme. It will give women the option of making le contributions which will entitle them ?■ to the same pension as men. This and other concessions will overcome much i- of the opposition to the measure, s, The Government hopes that the ] )f amendments will placate the influence tial section of the United Australia 1. Party led by Sir Frederick Stewart, e which insisted that the scheme should :e be "humanised." This section indiit cated plainly to the Government that I. unless some steps were taken to meet [- its demands, the Government could 0 not expect its support on several vital features of the Bill. The concessions will also cut the ground from under the feet of the Labour Opposition, which had indicated that it would attempt to amend practically every important provision of the original Bill. The Labour Party intends to press strongly for the inclusion of unemployment insurance. Some U.A.P. members also are disappointed that unemployment insurance will not be covered, but they will not force this issue, as they agree that,• to be effective, an unemployment insurance , scheme must have the co-operation of ' the States. They hope that this will 1 be obtained later and that provision 1 can be made for national unemployment insurance. The original scheme provided that •men should contribute Is 6d a week and women Is and be entitled to pensions of £1 and 15s a week respectively. The Ministry will now give women the voluntary right to qualify for equal pensions with men. A Bill will be introduced to permit self-employed persons to come within the provisions of the scheme. The Ministry will not concede the demand of the friendly societies that they should be the sole approved societies to administer the cash benefits under the Act and should ' be entrusted with the administration of the medical service. The Prime < Minister, Mr. Lyons, gave an undertak- . ing that the Ministry would carefully consider any constructive suggestions. ' but declared that it would accept no ( proposals that' would jeopardise the ; actuarial basis of the scheme, or raise contributions to an oppressive figure. ATTITUDE OF DOCTORS. ' The Government is faced with a t more serious problem because of the 1 refusal of many medical practitioners * to co-operate in the scheme .if they are s not given better conditions. The Min- £ istry made an agreement with the executive of the British Medical Asso- . ciation concerning these conditions, but 1 rank-and-file members of the associa- e tlon later repudiated this agreement. ] The position is complicated by de- c mands from within the Government " parties for an extension of medical benefits to wives and children of insured persons.

' Strenuous efforts are being made to prevent a deadlock between the Government and the doctors. Negotiations to settle the dispute have been begun, Wilt indications are that, at most, the Government will make only minor concessions in conditions. There is a remote chance that examination of the proposals for the extension of medical benefits will provide a solution of the problem. The suggestion is that the.service for dependants, although paid, for through the scheme, should be undertaken through the friendly. societies. The effect of this change would be to remove the major objections of friendly societies to the scheme by increasing their ■ official functions,. and to increase greatly the payments to doctors for each insured person. The principal objection to this proposal is the cost, which, presumably, would have to be borne by consolidated revenue. The B.M.A. is seeking an increase in the capitation fee for insured persons which, at present, is fixed at lis per head, and has suggested other forms of liberalisation. Its executive declares that the agreement it made with ;the Ministry did not place any onus on the association to guarantee that individual members would accept engagement in accordance with its terms, arid that association members were free to accept or refuse engagement. The Ministry feels that it has every right to insist that the agreement should be honoured. If it is not, it is stated, the Ministry will be prepared to fight the doctors, and if necessary, organise its own medical service. The capitation fee that has been fixed, it contends, is fair, and if necessary, sufficient doctors will be found to carry on the scheme.