PATIENTS' HOSPITAL FEES

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 20 February 1920, Page 4

PATIENTS' HOSPITAL FEES

NOVEL PROPOSAL MADE. SUGGESTION POR NEW TAX. The question of patients' payments va'a discussed at the last meeting of iie Pnlmerston North Hospital Board,

ilir subject being introduced by Dr. V.'hitaker. He quoted figures showing 'thai for the period from 1915 to 1919 the actual hospital expenditure in the i'alinerstoh North hospital district had been £35,502*, the payment by patients £"427, debts wiped off £9850, and levies made £lo,Bos. The figures, said the doctor, showed that while the actual hospital expenditure had doubled, and the local body levies had trebled in five years, more money had actually been wiped off the books as bad debts than had been collected. If rhe Honrd considered how much of the lime of the clerical staff of three people musl necessarily be spent in sending oul notice after notice to debtors of all kinds and then have to v, rite oft" £4OOO :i year and get in £3OOO, a proper perspective would be gained of the Board's liuaneial undertaking as .: business proposition. If this was :.».res.-ar,v and due to hard times, bad a-asons 'and Want o.f work, there might bo something to be said for it, but those live years, although years of war. were associated with rhe most prosperous times New Zealand had ever known. While the law stood as at prc- ,,,„( (here wore only two ways of meeting this discrepancy of bad debts and expenditure. The lirst was to raise the amount of weekly payments, but uufotlunatelv this had the drawback of

penalising the willing payer and «o 1 touchiu" Ihe shirker, who would si ill have his debts wiped off. The second way was to keep the amount as it. is, namely 24s lid per week, rhe lowest ..mount payable by a patient in the \hole dominion, and then got out deliberately to get iti every penny of il except from those in receipt of charitable aid. But if Ihe Board would do its share to get the. law amended, there

were much better cars, but they entailed a small measure of sacrifice upon the pari of everybody in the country, namely (1) to compel everybody to join one of the friendly societies, which now guarantee thirteen weeks' sick pay for 16s per year; (2) to compel everybody, whatever their status, to take out a yearly hospital ticket, of, say, £1 at the post office, just as they take out lishing and dog licenses. The result of these two latter courses would 1,0 that the Hospital Board would merely applv for a lump sum at the end of the year for so many patients.

i There would be no bad debts and no need of increasing the clerical staff. J» Local bodies, he explained, would still

lie levied upon for building, maintenance, and new buildings. Either of the above steps, said the doctor, would linve the eft'et-1 of removing a longstanding grievance and inculcate a

! measure of thrift it! the people, who would thus he taught to provide for themselves in case of need. Ho accordingly move,!: "That the L'almcrston North Hospital Board is of opinion a more equitable method of hospital treatment would be obtained if a vearly hospital ticket of ill was made compulsory upon every person in the ** Dominion, such ticket to be obtained at I the post offices throughout the Domin- [ ion." lie added that the only objec--5 tion lie could see'would be that people | w ho did not go In the hospital would

rhe amount received in the Dominion ! under il.r proposed scheme would be ! lil'oO.iK'U per cenr. and 'he amount at ■ present spent' on hospitals was , £i.i).iii.ii(Hi, so rl.ai this would provide ■ a (iiiiU'lcr <il' ilie money. Mr .1. K. Hornhk.« seconded the j motion pr-n forma, but said he could I not agree to making the hospitals free. Kven mnv members of friendly Societies sometimes found it hard to pay .;,:.;■■ duo. He thought that the best ocing done now as everybody paid in Mr .I. A. Nash suggested thai the liioiion be altered so that a remit be ..-mil '... the Hospital Board*' Confer„„Miis be .-ousidered. Mr J. W. Bramucll said the mover's Ulo.-i uns a good one. but he did not see how the money was to be collected. Mr \V. Murdoch said that all credit nv:>s. rlue to the Palmerston Hospital !3oaid that its fees were the lowest jjt .- the Dominion and that the levies were 5 also low. The i'ec-s were now paid by most people who could possibly pay. He mentioned that Shannon now paid less than it would if it was mi the Wellington Hospital district. Mr Nash: Less than half. Mr Murdoch said that the worker had enough to pay now without an extra taw «*- Mrs Oil! said she liked the idea of the taxation, but she thought it should he a graduared tax. Mr F. Penn approved of the principle suggested by Dr. Whitaker, but he did j not see how the money- was to be collected. [ Mr Nash said that while the Board I did not favour the motic:. it could 'carry a motion to give Dr. AVhitaker f power to bring the matter before the • Hospital Boards' Conference.

The motion, was accordingly altered to the following and was carried unanimously: '-That- tS:I- Hospital Hoards" Conference consider the question or patients' fees itnd hospital treatment, which should be phieed on a more equitable basis-,' '—'' Standard.' Mr s. A. Bro.vlbek gave notice "io move at the next meeting: ''That tlie patient- fees, at the hoepital be is-