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 IX. Inequalities of benefit in different approved societies

Collection:: Economics Books

114 MAJORITY REPORT. CHAPTER IX. INEQUALITIES OF BENEFIT IN DIFFERENT APPROVED SOCIETIES. 245. We now come to the main ground on which the Approved Society system, as it now exists, has been attacked by many of the witnesses who gave evidence on the subject, namely, the serious inequalities of benefit to which the system gives rise. It has already been explained that under the scheme laid down in 1911, and continued to the present date, each Approved Society 1s a separate financial unit, controlling its own funds and standing to gain or lose as the result of its own experience. Any surplus found in the funds of a Society on valuation can be used solely for the benefit of the members of that Society. Although the Act provides for a flat rate of contribution from members of all Societies, there has been a wide variation in the amounts of the surpluses in different Societies on valuation. As a result of the first valuation as at the end of 1918, some Societies were still unable to give anything more than the normal statutory benefits, while others had sufficiently large surpluses to enable them to provide their members not only with substantial increases of the normal cash benefits but also with valuable additional benefits in the nature of treatment. The results of the second valuation are not yet completely available, but it is clear that the divergences will be even greater than on the occasion of the first valuation ; for while it has already been found that some Societies will still be unable to provide more than the normal statutory benefits, in the more fortunate Societies the surplus on the second valuation is being found to be about three times as large as that which they enjoyed on the first. We are not surprised that these great disparities should have occasioned disappointment and dissatisfaction in certain quarters, and that they should have provoked keen criticism of the present system. 246. It will be useful at this point to illustrate by actual figures the range of divergence to which we refer. In Appendix A of the Report of the Government Actuary on the First Valuation (Cd. 1662) is given a complete statement of the surpluses and deficiencies of all the Societies. But to measure the real extent of the disparities we must find the results reduced in some form to a rate per unit of membership. For this we may refer to Table X of the same Report. We may also refer to a table and diagrams which we asked Sir Walter Kinnear (Q. 813-8) to prepare for our use. We should explain that a ‘‘ unit ’’ in these diagrams is the equivalent of a combined addition of 1s. to the weekly rate of sickness benefit, 6d. to that of disablement benefit and 2s. to maternity benefit. It will be seen that the range of units of disposable surplus is considerable, the highest

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