The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1932. SICKNESS INSURANCE.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 October 1932, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1932. SICKNESS INSURANCE.

Some views upon the question of sickness insv.ratue ai'e expressed in an editorial published in the “New Zealand Medical Journal” under the heading “The Sick, the Sorry, and the State.” The writer expresses keen criticism of the faults 'arising from schemes that are not based upon contributory principles, quotes details concerning the present accident insurance system and the Friendly Societies and National Provident funds, and suggests inquiry into the problem. The medical profession m'ay have useful views on uneinp'oyment and sickness insurance. Such a scheme should be as near!v is possible proof against abuse, con ined only to the class that may need it, n >t antagonistic to solvent Friendly .societies, not .mother

imposition on the medica-l profession, and based on self-reliance and imbued with the spirit of independence. At I present we have insurance against in- ! dustrial accidents, and old-age pensions which are not self-contributory. In the year 1929 in New Zealand there were 7218 industrial accidents, for which £136,486 were paid as damages. One hour wa.s lost as a result of such accidents out of every 52 hours worked in the industries covered by these statistics. There is a remarkable uniformity in the figures from year to year, 'the sick and funeral funds of the Friendly Societies in New Zealand amount to £3,496,GC3, and during 1930 the number of members sick was 20,163, representing 20.5 per cent, of mem tens at risk; and the sickness of lodge members in 1930 caused an incapacity for 73 days per .siok member; and the sickness in the aggregate amounted to a loss of working time of 212,754 weeks. The total number of lodge members in New Zealand is about 107,000. The National Provident Fund is. limited to people earning leas than £3OO per annum, and is voluntary, and members a. little more than 30,000 contributors. This fund is based on sound principles, and is capable of great development. The present condition of the Public Service Superannuation Fund will not foster a belief iu the wisdom of political control, but it is clear that insurance against unemployment, . old age, invalidity, and accident is a large and urgent problem to h e (studied by a, non-political board in the light of the experience of other countries. Such a hoard of inquiry should have adequate medical representation in view of the nature of the investigation. The present method, or want of method, is the poorest kind of palliative, perhaps the best available in a sudden and unexpected emergency, but equally unsuitable for abnormal times. We must choose between a scheme of contributory insurance against sickness which we may help to formulate, a distasteful scheme forced upon the medical profession, a poor-law medical! service, with its uncharitable pauperism, or free treatment by medical practitioners for all who cannot nay for medical and nursing attention. The choice- of the last proposal imposes a burden which it may be impossible to continue to sustain. We cannot justly blame the politicians,” concludes the article, “-although we m-av see very., yeriflu;? defects in our political system, for this system, as it has expanded unchecked iu giving the people what they want (and for which they think the other fellow will pay) has made government so wide in its ramifications that. Cabinet Ministers are so burdened with the details of administration that they can find little time for analytical or creative thought. A-s for the writer of the-'e reflections, he has long since been purged of all political bias,- pml is one of the last and loneliest of the eclectics.