HEALTH INSURANCE.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13105, 13 November 1935, Page 2

HEALTH INSURANCE.

‘•Benefits from our public health and national insurance policy will be as follows: Service of general practitioners, consultative and specialist services, laboratory aids, X-rays, medicines and appliances, dental opthalmic, and optical treatment, hospital and sanatorium treatment for all persons with an income below £276 per annum. Now ot course we are not boosting anything that we cannot pay for. We are not in the same category as the present member when he stood for a new party at the last election and boosted the famous £70,000,000 scheme. We have estimated our Budget in advance and know it can be carried out without upsetting the present Budget equilibrium. We propose to finance our scheme by contributory tax oil the same principle as the unemployment tax, but without the levies. The total tax. c overing both our unemployment and the national health and pensions, will be reduced from 8d in the £ to 6cl. We are using that heavy tax of £4,500,000 which you have been wasting every year. We propose to investigate the incidence of malnutrition among children and to jirovide such measures as may be necessary for a remedy, including the free issue of milk in schools. In our super ami native pensions scheme wo will provide for payment on a somewhat similar basis with an increase of approximately 25 per cent, m the payment of old age, widows’, miners’, blind and other pensioners. In order «to encourage thrift we propose to increase the allowance for property exemption. In our opinion superannuative pensions should be paid only in cases of economic l necessity, and it is on this basis that our proposals have been formulated. I took out particulars of the expenditure on this policy, as follows: Health insurance £1,000,000, hospital and other benefits £600,000, pensions £4,000,000, tuberculosis and cancer schemes £50,000, hospital and health system £1,500,000, other items £50,000; total, £7,200,000. Ihe revenue would be obtained as follows: Contributory tax £3,000,(MM), present local bodios and other contributions £1,150,000, health vote £1,250,000, pensions vote £1 - 650,000, recoveries £200,000; total £7,250,000.