BENEFITS AND PAYMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1938, Page 8

BENEFITS AND PAYMENTS

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—lt has been hinted that the payment to the doctors is to be 15s per head of population. This is extremely vague, because in England and in New Zealand there are certain deductions to be made from this capitation allowance of 15s for certain funds, i.e., central milage fund, etc., and the doctor will get much less than 15s per patient. tToday he has contracts with the friendly society lodges in Wellington on a basis of 22s 6d per year and extra fees for milage over two miles and for calls after 8 p.m. Besides, the lodges do not mulct him with fines of £20 in any dispute, as is done under | the English panel system because he ordered medicine tod frequently or too costly or used drugs not on the list prescribed by the Government. In the New Zealand Bill there is a penalty clause of £50 for the doctor to pay if the Department differs from him, and further there is a clause which debares him from accepting panel practice if he is once struck off, and this is statutory for life. There is no appeal from this clause to the Minister. It is all very well for the Government to imply what the doctors are to be paid, but what the public want to know is what is the' actual cash amount to be paid to the doctor after all allowances have .been deducted. —I am, etc., MAN IN THE STREET. (To the Editor.) Sir, —"Fair Play" in your- Friday's issue makes a basic, ufifortunate, and misleading deduction regarding the Security Bill, and I would like to cor- ! rect his misunderstanding. He says, "No self-respecting man, if only in receipt of a very small income, desires to have a levy imposed on the whole of the people from age 16 to 60 so as to give him a little extra income." Now, Sir, this is an incorrect assumption because he has omitted to state that the Is per £ per week, which replaces the 8d in the £ per week (that is 4d in the £ extra) gives the little extra income he mentions, plus free doctor, free medicine, free hospital, and free maternity services, and anyone who has had anything to do with dckness, operations, and recovery will understand something about the enormous expense that is involved to the individual, whereas if the new Security Bill becomes law those who are not sick will help to pay for those who are, and the workers —doctors and nurseswill be paid for helping our fellowmen. lam sure that most individuals who subscribe to the security plan over a period of years will receive many times what they pay in from hospital, medical, medicine, and maternity benefits, because we are not all sick at once, and those who are well one time | get the benefit when they become sick

and others get well, and in addition ; there is unemployment pay, sickness j allowance, invalid pension for the un- j fortunates besides the pension of super- j annuation at 60. ! 1 In my own case, if this Bill had been law twenty-five years ago I could have saved over £250 in medical and surgical expenses without mentioning hospital, nursing, and convalescence. Sick- j ness comes, we know not how, nor when, nor-where, and it is expensive, ai>d this security plan will be a wonderful saving for most of those subscribing to it, and if the others do not want the benefits, then they have something better in health and wellbeing.—l am, etc., , EQUITY, '