SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Southland Times, Issue 24300, 4 December 1940, Page 8

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Scheme For Medical Service

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, December 3.

Though it makes no mention of when the new scheme is to operate, a section in the Finance Bill No. 4 introduced in the House this evening and read a first time, provides for the inauguration of the general practitioner service under the Social Security Act. The service is based on a mutual arrangement between patients and doctors and the benefits include “all the proper and necessary services of medical practitioners, except such services as may, in accordance with the regulations be excluded therefrom either absolutely or in special circumstances to be defined in the regulations.” An amendment repeals sections in the principal Act covering the scope of the medical benefits, the making of contracts between the Minister and the doctors and the right of beneficiaries to elect their doctors.

The main operative clause provides that a qualified medical practitioner and any person entitled to claim medical benefits for himself or for any member of his family may mutually agree in the prescribed form and manner for the provision of service. Medical practitioners who undertake the service will be entitled to the prescribed fee out of the Social Security fund for each person, but no other payment except mileage fees, which are to be assessed in accordance with the terms of the regulations.

ENTRY INTO CONTRACT Doctors who undertake to give service automatically enter into the contract which may be terminated only by the Minister on the recommendation of a special tribunal. If any question arises as to whether any service provided by a doctor is within the scope of the medical benefits, the matter shall be determined by the Minister of Health after consultation with the advisory committee provided for under the principal Act. The Minister may make special arrangements for dealing • with exceptional cases. A further amendment to the Act exempts compassionate grants made by the Government or’by an employer to a widow in respect of her husband’s death from the computation of income for the purpose of application for benefits. The provision relating to the computation of the income of widows in receipt of allotments from sons in the armed forces is altered.

“Is there any provision giving free treatment to out-patients?” asked the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) when the Bill was introduced. The Minister said that there was no need for that, because it was already inside the law.

Mr Holland: They cannot get free treatment.

The Minister said the only reason they could not was the desire of the Government to make arrangements with the doctors. At the same time the question of the .treatment of out-patients was already under consideration by the Government.

DOCTORS’ ATTITUDE

(United Press Association) NELSON, December 3. The attitude of the medical profession of the Dominion towards the proposed introduction in January of the general practitioner service under the Social Security Act was expressed today by Dr J. P. S. Jamieson, chairman of the National Health Insurance Committee of the British Medical Association.

“At the present time the less said about a free, universal general practitioner service the better,” said Dr Jamieson. “Having brought the greater part of the Social Security Act into operation with a minimum of delay the Government should not be criticized for caution in introducing this portion of the provisions of the Act. This is especially so as it would appear that the full amount at least of the tax collected is already being paid out. “Neither should the profession be blamed for hesitancy in committing itself to a system which overnight would profoundly alter the system of the practice of medicine without time for natural development and adjustments, and in a period when the future is too uncertain. It must be obvious to everyone that the present moment in the midst of a conflict for the survival of the Empire is altogether inopportune for proceeding with such a matter of domestic concern.

“It'is more inopportune since so great a proportion of the medical profession, amounting to fully 25 per cent., is absorbed already in military service, while more will be called upon. Moreover, nothing could be more inopportune for the department than to be faced with the laying down and administration of a new system while engaged with the ever-increasing burden of work which the war involves.

SERVICE OF DOCTORS “The association agrees absolutely with what has already been said by the Trime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) that the one thing that matters, indeed, the only thing that really fundamentally matters for New Zealand at present is our national war effort. For that reason, members have placed their services to an unexampled extent at the disposal of the National Medical Committee for military service in any capacity for which they may be suitable, having regard to civil requirements. As a body and individually, we have made many arrangements to liberate suitable men for military service and to maintain the civilian service.

“We have urged, therefore, that further consideration of this matter should be deferred until the conclusion of the war and demobilization. Tire profession continues to exercise its long-ac-corded privilege of working as long and as hard as ever it can without anybody minding, and feels that it may rely on the good sense of the people not to embarrass the Government or to harass the profession by a demand for a kind of change which is impracticable.”