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Show SOUTH CACHE COURIER The American Farm Family Is Now Enjoying, the f American Prisoners of War in Rome , Conveniences and Benefits of Prepaid Hospital Care Through Blue Cross Hospital Service Plans , ... u. VA V , By ELMO SCOTT WATSON Released by Western Newspaper Union, is the story of the growing moveone ment in the country that is adding to the health and peace of mind of millions of Americans. Seven years ago there were fewer than 600,000 of those Americans. Today there are more than THIS more than 14,000,000 of our whole population one-ten- th and its likely that by the end of the year that number will have risen to 18,000,000. This movement is group hospital insurance which, under the stimulation of war time conditions, has become a $100,000,000 a year business. And, as the result of the Blue Cross Hospital Service plan, sponsored by the American Sis is visited by Mother and Dad, Blue Cross hospital plan subscribers. Hospital association, Mr. John Q. Citizen, one of these operatives, creameries, and other From Minnesota farm bureau 14,000,000, has the assurance that, should illness or accident make hospital care necessary for him or some member of his family, his pocket-boo- k will not be suddenly and devastatingly depleted. And the peace of mind which comes from the assurance of that fact has been purchased by John Q. at an average cost of less than five cents a day! However, the significant fact about this story for readers of this newspaper is that the group hospital service plan has spread to the rural areas of the nation and is rapidly becoming as common as it has been in metropolitan centers. Of course,, it has always been true that farmers and members of their families get sick or have accidents just as do factory workers. The same is true of employees of business firms in villages and small towns. In fact, both classes need help and often are less able to pay hospital bills than are, the middle class or groups in the big cities. So there was quite as much reason for their having the benefit of low-coplanned and 'prepaid" hospital care as for their city cousins having it. The principal reason why they didnt get it sooner lay in certain factors which are the very heart of the planned hospital care idea. Of those factors the word "group" is the key. First of all, enrollment of members in such a plan has to be through groups and these groups have to be large enough so that, as in any insurance of this one type, their members are "good risks. With the population so scattered in rural areas, it seemed that it would be almost impossible either to enroll people or to make collections from them. It seemed also that groups would be so small and so few that each subscriber would be in effect an individual" subscriber, hence a hazardous risk. Then, too, it was believed that the people of rural America, especially farmers, are such individualists and independent thinkers that they could not be enrolled in hospitalization groups large enough to be Comes the Blue Cross. For these, and other, reasons the earliest plans for hospital care were concentrated in the big cities where large industries, whose employees were numbered by the thou- sands, oifered the best opportunity for handling such insurance on a group basis. Then came the organization of the Hospital Service Plan commission of the American Hospital association to sponsor the "Blue Cross" movement. "Blue Cross is a general term which identifies the 77 group plans for hospital care which meet the standards of community service, professional sponsorship, organization and financial solvency and which have been approved by the American Hosi pital association. Not only did the Blue Cross movement expand the planned hospital care idea in the cities but it was chiefly responsible for its moving out into the country." It spread to the smaller cities and towns first and then out to the farms. Its true that , farmers are "independent thinkers" but, as one of the pioneer workers in the rural field has stated, they are also shrewd buyers and are quick to take to something once its value has been prcwed, So now farmers are being enrolled through banks, with which they do business and which are willing to cooperate, through their farm bureaus, their granges, their farmers unions, co- low-inco- st non-prof- it farmer-busines- s asso- ciations. In the cities, workers who are buying hospital protection pay for it by payroll deduction. Farmers, who enroll through banks, authorize those institutions to make periodic deductions from their checking or savings accounts to pay the required fees. Where they enroll through creameries or cooperatives, periodic deductions are made from their cream or grain checks and those who enroll through the grange, farm bureau or farmers union pay their fees on a quarterly, semiannual or annual basis, mostly the latter two. How the Plan Works. Although there are 77 different group plans for hospital care and they differ from each other in some minor details, here is the essential method of their operation: The hospitals in a certain region city, county or state guarantee hospital service to Blue Cross subscribers, whether they are members of groups in factories, city offices, educational institutions, clubs, union organizations or farm groups, who have agreed to pay a certain amount for this service at regular intervals. This amount varies somewhat according to the group plan. Membership costs from $7.20 to $10.20 a year for one person and from $15 to $24 a year for the member and his family, including his wife and all unmarried children under the age of 18. In Minnesota, where the pioneering work in farm enrollment was done, there is a plan which offers a man complete coverage for himself and 50 per cent discounts for his wife and children at $12 a year, plus $3 for each adult dependent. In return for these payments the insured, or member of his family, who has to go to a hospital gets a e room, his meals, general nursing, anesthetics, special diets, dressings, laboratory tests, and operating room charges. (This does not include, however, the physicians or surgeons fees.) He can enter any one of the countrys approved, registered hospitals, that is those hospitals recognized as meeting the standards of the American Medical association or state and local agencies. If for any reason one of these hospitals cant take him in because of lack of room, some of the plans pay back double the years premium, but many of them provide cash payments for home care equivalent to the amount that the hospital care would have been worth. However, there have been very few instances when a Blue Cross member couldnt get into a hospital becaue the number of these institutions which participate in the plan is 2.500 with 80 per cent of the bed capacity of all the hospitals in the United States open to the public. Reference has been made to the pioneering work done in Minnesota in rural enrollment in hospital plans. It began in 1938 under the auspices of the farm bureau in Hennepin county with 42 family contracts for a total service coverage of 90 persons. Since then farm bureau memberships in that state have increased s to 6,200 contracts with 22,400 covered for hospital care. These, in 325 local units in 61 counties, have found the plan highly successful and satisfactory. There are 87 counties in the state and a total of 1,200 farm bureau units so that s of all the counties in Minnesota now have units enrolled in the Blue Cross and more than of the units are already protecting themselves against sudden hospitalization costs. semi-privat- per-son- three-fourth- one-fourt- h sponsorship of prepaid hospital care has spread to other states notably Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Oklahoma, until now there are 15 In which farm bureau federation members may take advantage of Blue Cross plans through their unit groups. In December, 1942, the American Farm bureau at its annual meeting in Chicago wrote into its nationwide program of work a strong indorsement of the non profit group hospital care plans and other rural health developments that lend themselves to farm family unit action. However, the farm bureau is not the only agency through which the hospital plan is being carried to the farms of the nation. In Hillsdale county, Mich., the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance company, a cod operative, was used as the group through which to put the hospital plan into operation. In northern Illinois, the Northern Illinois Hospital service, serving 11 counties and their small towns, ranging in population from 300 to 1,500, have worked in with Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs, with women's clubs, PTAs, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and farm bureaus, home churches, bureaus and granges. As a result in these H counties more than 4,500 farm families, representing 13,500 individuals are Blue Cross members. Combined Business Groups. In North Carolina a great many of the small groups in the small towns are enrolled as combined business groups. This type of enrollment means combining many small businesses into a group, getting 75 per cent or more of the employes in these various small concerns to become members of the Blue Cross. In some of these combined groups, as many as 800 persons join. These groups consist of drug stores, grocery stores, warehouses etc. The FSA has also been active in cooperating with the Blue Cross plans in North Carolina and other states in bringing prepaid hospital care to low income families. Indicative of the way in which small town and rural America is enlisting under the Blue Cross banner are these facts taken at random from many examples. In one Iowa town of 592 population, 445 or 75 per cent have enrolled in a hospital care plan and in another town of 4,405, a total of 2,214 or 50 per cent have joined. In one Wisconsin community the local power company acts as collector and remitting agent and the people of the community who have enrolled pay for this Insurance along with their monthly electric bills. This town has a population of 1,000 and out of a possible 450 persons employed in the town, 155 have enrolled, there being 105 family contracts and 41 individual contracts. Such instances could be multiplied indefinitely. From all of which it is evident that rural America is indeed shrewd buyers and quick to take to something once its value has been proved." As for proving its value, ask the Blue Cross member in New York state who was recently hospitalized for 53 days. His contract covered him for 23 days of one contract year and 28 days of the new year, a total of 51 days. His total hospital bill was $300.55. When he was ready to be discharged from the hospital, he was handed a hospital service credit of $288.30. That meant he had to pay in cash to the hospital only $12.25. "Its a thrill that comes once in a lifetime," he said. And then, quite naturally, he added, "I think hospital service is a great idea." According to the German caption with these photos, which reached the United States via a neutral source, the above men are Americans who were taken captive by the Germans at the Allied bridgehead at Nettuno. The prisoners are on their way to internment camps in the rear. Smash at Fortress Europe Double-Barrele- d already-establishe- Here is shown the boundary referred to as Hitlers "Inner Fortress, which soon may be cracking in several places. Even as the Red army pauses in preparation for a spring drive, the Russians are at the very wall of the fortress, and are expected to hit at vital Lwow, rail gate to Warsaw and Berlin. The Allies must crack the heavily fortified coast line and break through many divisions of Germanys outstanding troops. Meanwhile, pounds from the air continue to knock out Nazi air strength, cripple rail lines and arms factories. pre-invasi- Wichitans Wade in Flood Waters Dont Whistle! V!gs- - Bill White is not a Wac, Wave o Spar. He is a member of the famous fighting Irish regiment of Canada, Wading barefoot was the order of the day as thousands of residents reminiscent of the Ladies from Hell of Wichita, Kansas, were stranded downtown by flood waters of the of World War I. Here be walks down Little Arkansas river. These venturesome individuals are trying to get Chicago streets, ignoring the loud home by fording a more shallow avenue of escape. whistles. Indias Delegates to Labor Parley Hero Welcomed Membership Grows From 500,000 to 14 Million in Seven Years Protection of Americans and their families against the costs of hospital care was extended to more than 13,000,000 persons in 1943, when 2,600,000 additional participants in the United States and Canada elected to enroll in Blue Cross Plans. This figure is exclusive of 750,000 suspended contracts held by in the armed forces, who hnay renew protection upon their return to civilian fife. These facts are revealed by rs C. Rufus Rorem, director of the Hospital Service Plan commission, which the activities and approves the policies of 78 Blue Cross Plans located in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. The proportion of family dependents enrolled has steadily increased, from 37 per cent in 1937 to the present 54 per cent, thus indicating a growing desire by commercial, agricultural and industrial employers and employees to protect their wives and children, as well as themselves. Here is the record for the seven i Members of the India delegation to the International Labor Organization conference at Temple university in Philadelphia. Left to right: Jamnadas Mehta, India Federation of Labor; D. G. Mulherkar, Organization of Industrial Employees; H. C. Prior, Indian Civil Service and Sir Samuel Runganadba, commissioner. All-Ind- ia Pittsburghs conquering hero, Tecb. Sgt. Charles C. (Commando) Kelly, as be is welcomed home by his mother. Kelly was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for killing 40 Nazis at Salerno. |