MATERNITY BENEFITS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 November 1939, Page 5

MATERNITY BENEFITS

AGREEMENT WITH MEDICAL PROFESSION SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEME IN OPERATION. STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. Au announcement that an agreement had been concluded with the council of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association on the scale of fees payable From the Social Security Fund for medical sei'vices afforded in relation to maternity benefits, was made by the ActingMinister of Health, Mr Armstrong, last night. The scale came into force as from October 1 last. “The effective operation of the new scheme will complete the full range of maternity benefits contemplated in the principal Act," Mr Armstrong said. The most important feature of the scheme was that it did not necessitate the making of contracts between the Minister and individual doctors for the provision of medical services in relation to maternity benefits. "These determinations mean that the new scheme for medical services in relation to maternity, as embodied in the Social Security Amendment Act passed at the end of September, is now being brought into operation and that the benefits of the scheme become available in respect of services afforded on and after October 1,” Mr Armstrong said. “The necessary administrative arrangements are being proceeded with. SPECIALIST FEES. "The scheme provides that every doctor undertaking maternity work in the course of his practice will be entitled to receive payment from the fund in respect of his services according to the scale of fees duly fixed. Such fees from the fund are to be accepted by the practitioner in full satisfaction of his claims in respect of the relative services, except that a practitioner who is officially recognised as an obstetrical specialist will be permitted to charge the patient an additional fee.”

The Minister said that in view of the fact that the scheme had been made retrospective to the beginning of October, it would be understood that in any case where a practitioner was in the near future recognised officially as an obstetric specialist, his right to charge additional fees to the patient would operate from the commencement of the scheme.

Any pactitioner who was unwilling to provide services in accordance with the scheme might, by giving notice to that effect to the Minister, place himself outside the operation of the scheme. In that event, his services would not be the subject of any payments from the fund, and would be wholly chargeable to his patients. Here again it must be understood that if any practitioner did give notice in the near future of his unwillingness to provide services under the scheme, such notice would be operative from the date of commencement of the scheme.

PATIENTS FREE TO CHOOSE. The only other circumstances in which medical services in relation to maternity would not be the subject of benefits were in cases where the patient for private reasons, notified the practitioner that she did not wish to receive medical treatment by way of maternity benefits, and, of course, in cases where a patient was not entitled to such benefits owing to the fact that she was not ordinarily resident in the Dominion. “Other features of the scheme," Mr Armstrong continued, “are that it provides for medical services in relation to a miscarriage provided the patient has received approved ante-natal advice before the occurrence, and also for anaesthetist and consultant services in relation to maternity, though these services are not specifically mentioned in the Act. “The scale of fees which has just been fixed, it should perhaps be explained. contains definitions of the scope and content of the services that are the subject of maternity benefits, and steps are being taken to issue a leaflet for the information of patients explaining what services are so included, and what are the responsibility of the patient. For instance, the supply of drugs, medicines, materials and appliances to the patients is not covered by the benefit, and until pharmaceutical benefits are introduced the patient is expected to pay for these. "Again, in regard to mileage fees payable from the fund, definite rules have been laid down in the scale of fees as to the circumstances in which they are payable and as to the basis on which they are to be computed.”