Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1740277147

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-132094

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 1926

Scope:: XII, 394 S.

Digitisation:: 2020

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VIII. The approved society system

Collection:: Economics Books

MAJORITY REPORT. CHAPTER VIII. THE APPROVED SOCIETY SYSTEM. 196. We now turn to consider one of the most important features of the Scheme of National Health Insurance—the Approved Society system. Whether we regard the membership of the Societies, or their number and variety, or the historical posi- tion which many of them occupy in the field of provident effort, or the immense sums of money with the administration of which they are entrusted, we are impressed with the magnitude of the system and the complexity of the many issues which it presents for our consideration. We think it will be convenient to discuss these problems as a self-contained group, remembering that we deliberately excluded them from our review in Chapters V and VIL. Accordingly in this Chapter we describe the system, give the effect of the more important evidence we have received in regard to it and make certain recommendations for improving the administrative working of the system, which, in its main features, should, we think, be continued. AUTONOMY OF SOCIETIES. 197. In one respect the National Insurance Act of 1911 repre- sented a bold experiment in the field of social legislation, inas- much as it sought to devolve a large part of the administration of a measure enacted by Parliament upon those in whose interests the Act had been passed. Even a cursory perusal of the Act would demonstrate that in intention at least the Health Tnsur. ance Scheme was planned so that it might be administered, not by the executive departments of the Central Government or by Local Authorities subject to the electorate at large, but as far as might be by self-governing bodies created by and answerable to the insured persons themselves. The Act was thus an experiment in democracy, no less than in the domain of social betterment, and a review of the working of the Act would be incomplete if it failed to recognise this two-fold character of the Scheme. The bodies by which the Act, so far as concerns the administration of cash benefits, is administered, are known as Approved Societies. They are organisations of various origin and differ widely from one another in constitution and methods of operation. They are, however, subject in common to two main statutory con- ditions, namely— (1) That the Society shall not be conducted for profit, and (2) That its constitution shall provide for ifs affairs being subject to the absolute control of its members. 198. The Act provides that each Approved Society shall have control of its own funds derived from the contributions of its

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