MUST WORK SMOOTHLY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 242, 12 October 1937, Page 8

MUST WORK SMOOTHLY

HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME VISITING EXPERT'S ADVICE [ Per Press Association. 1 WELLINGTON, Oct. 11. “Since we believe in insurance as a principle, see to it if you can that your influence is in favour of a scheme which is an insurance scheme in New Zealand,” said Sir Henry Brackenbury, vice-president of the Council of the British Medical Association, who is visiting New Zealand at the invitation of the New Zealand branch of the association, after addressing the Insurance Institute of New Zealand last night on the national health insurance plan in Great Britain. “If you believe insurance is a good thing, there is no reason why any health scheme in New Zealand should not be a contributory insurance scheme. If one can apply the thing to a country that is not very dissimilar there can be no difficulty. The whole matter is exceedingly complicated from the medical side and the actuarial side. There is no use in rushing at it in a hurry and if you can take your part in ensuring that there are full inquiries made into all the aspects before any scheme is placed before the country I think it will be a good thing. I know that a good many inquiries have been made and are being made, but there is a great danger in a scheme being attempted which will not work smoothly. If it will not work smoothly you will get things into a chaotic state which cannot b* put in order, so I ask you to see that the insurance principles are preserved.” Sir Henry said he would not presume to express any opinion about how any scheme that might be introduced in New Zealand should be modified. The first thing about health insurance was that the scheme should really be insurance.