Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Bibliographic data

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

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter IX. Inequalities of benefit in different approved societies

Collection:: Economics Books

more ition f the made vb we ee of sties, med. » Was ities. ncies otect n of these oling sly— 1 the held ever, inion now leties on to cold . this it is ually lone ; rable h we sory made utual ns of their "hese view ation tives y laid d the AT. as ylish- fully vould pro- hich, com- luses MAJORITY REPOET. 1] of Approved Societies should in part be pooled, and we proceed to detailed proposals for giving effect to our recommendation. 256. We consider that the surplus funds which have accrued to any Society at the date when the changes which we recom- mend are brought into operation, together with any future Interest accruing on those funds, should remain the absolute Property of the Society and that the proposals for the mitigation of inequality which we put forward should be limited to surplus earned after the change of system. This would mean in practice that at each valuation after the third, the surplus carried forward from the previous valuation (including the Contingencies Fund) with its interest earnings would be exempt from the operation of the scheme we suggest. The balance of surplus would be the amount actually earned in the quinquennium, and this is the sum which we propose to treat as subject to pooling. It is difficult to make any precise estimate of its aggregate amount, since this depends partly on facts which will not be available until the second valuation is completed, and partly on the fluctuations In the claims from period to period in the future. We are advised, however, that for the purposes of examination of our Proposals a sum of about £2,000,000 a year may be assumed. . 257. The proportion of this surplus which should be brought Into the pool would clearly have to be substantial, since otherwise the pooling scheme would be ineffective. On the other hand the proportion left with the Societies would also have to he substantial if the incentive: to good administration is Dot to be weakened. Our conclusion, therefore, is that the pro- Portion should be one-half, a proportion which could also be defended on the ground that one-half of the contributions out of which the surplus arises is paid not by the members themselves but by their employers. The pooling of one-half of the surplus acquired would have the same effect broadly as if the employers’ contributions were carried to a central fund and one-half of all the benefits and other charges paid thereout—a plan which might With some measure of justification have been adopted from the beginning, 258. We recommend that the amount paid into the pool should be distributed among all Societies at a flat rate per head of Membership. We think that this would be the only satisfactory method of distribution, since if the money were used simply to Subsidise the weaker Societies, it might have the effect of raising some of them to a better position than that of some of the Societies contributing to the pool. 259. One consideration which has weighed much with us in arriving at our decision is that after the application of the small Margin in the present weekly contribution, to which reference 's made in Chapter VII of our Report, there is no means, apart na 34709

Access restriction

Copyright

Full text: Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation