HEALTH INSURANCE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 78, 2 April 1938, Page 10

HEALTH INSURANCE

GOVERNMENT’S SCHEME FRIENDLY SOCIETIES’ VIEW DUNEDIN, March 28. The national health insurance and superannuation schemes were discuss ed by the chairman, Bro. P. W. Stabb, Provincial Grand Master, at the annual meeting on Saturday morning of the Otago district committee of the Manchester Union Independent Order of Oddfellows. “We all readily understand the tremendous task before the Government, and wc appreciate the desire to make easier financially periods of sickness and to obviate the causes of sickness," said Mr. Stabb. “These, too, have been the aims of the friendly societies, but in a sectional way only, and if a larger and better scheme can be devised by the Government of the day it must be accepted.” The cost, however, might be greater than the country could afford, continued Mr Stabb. Possibly machinery and systems adopted by the friendly societies to carry out then own administration might be helpful Ito the G(\-Foment in the bigger [scheme. I .ed and felt that they

could and would bo allowed to carry on their work, the bulk of which had been done voluntarily and had behind it a fraternity and brotherhood which could not be assessed in terms of money. Mr. Stabb quoted the many millions which it was costing to carry out schemes in Groat Britain. Expenditure there had grown substantially decade after decade, but it was expected that there would bo a decline in the totals to be disclosed a year hence. That would be due to the fall in the amounts paid to those willing to work, but for whom there was no work. How long that would go on, no one knew, but the probabilities were that 10 years hence the nation would be paying £600,000,000 a year, or even more in social services.