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 XIII. Miscellaneous questions

Collection:: Economics Books

198 MAJORITY REPORT. benefits in the form of treatment which are being provided out of the substantial surpluses accruing to tho particular Societies catering for them. We return to this subject at a later stage in this Chapter (para. 589). We feel, moreover, that the demarcation of new classes for the purpose of adding to the list of employments to be excepted from insurance would give rise to very difficult administrative problems and, in practice, would be bound to lead to many hard cases. In this connexion we would refer to the evidence of Sir Walter Kinnear, Q. 23,397 and 23,403. We do not, therefore, recommend any alteration of the present income limits for compulsory insurance. 462. Another proposal for the exclusion from Health Insurance of a class of employed person who at present fall within the com- pulsory provisions of the Act was made to us by the Stepney Borough Council (App. TXXXVIII). The persons in question are men who are given casual work by the Council, e.g., on the cleansing of streets under schemes for the relief of uneroployment. The main argument put forward by the Council in support of their proposal was that the whole period covered by employment of this nature in the case of any one man in any year was so short that he could derive little or no advantage by the payment of Health Insurance contributions in respect of the employment. On the other hand, however, even a short period of employment occurring in a prolonged spell of unemployment may be of value to an insured person, by reducing his arrears and thereby assisting him to avoid reduction in his benefits. Moreover, as was brought out in the examination of the witness who appeared before us on behalf of the Council, no case could be made out for differential treatment of this particular type of casual employment (Barnby Q. 21,325 and 21,330), while a general exception of all casual employment would give rise to serious difficulties involving great danger to the whole system of collection of contributions. We do not, therefore, see our way to make a recommendation in the direction desired. 463. A further suggestion for an extension of the classes of persons who are excepted from compulsory insurance was made to us by the Welsh Area of the National Union of Clerks and Administrative Workers (App. CXXXI, 7). The Union submitted that clerks and salaried officials who, as a condition of their em- ployment, contribute to a fund which provides sickness and dis- ablement benefits of at least equal value to those given by the Act, should be excepted. We cannot, however, see our way to recommend the adoption of this proposal. We would point oub that there is not, in the case of employment of the nature referred to by the witnesses, the same security of tenure as in the case of employment under the Crown or by public’ authorities or statutory companies, nor are the conditions of employment of the permanent nature which characterises the various classes of employment which are already excepted.

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