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Show Hetter$ to tlte Editor Physicians tell how they stand on King's bill To clear up confusion and set the record straight, I I would like to let the citizens of Utah know exactly where the 950 doctors of this state themselves is the obligation of all decent people. Here's what we reject: As Americans not simply as physicians we are deeply concerned about the dangers of Federal Medicine. And we are not crying "wolf" when we apply that term to the cur-r cur-r e n 1 1 y proposed legislation which would establish a COMPULSORY COM-PULSORY health-care program pro-gram for everyone covered by Federal Social Security (regardless (re-gardless of need.) We believe that this creates a program, devoid of cost control, which soon becomes an all-inclusive monopoly destroying the quality qual-ity and incentive of American Medicine, now the best in the world. This COMPULSORY healthcare health-care program adds up to nothing noth-ing more than Socialized Medicine Med-icine controlled by a bureau of the Federal Government . . . paid for by increased Social So-cial Security taxes, burdening both present and future generations. gener-ations. Confined at first to the aged, it would inevitably be expanded to cover all Americans Ameri-cans only one way of doing anything; in short, another monopoly. Moreover, when the Federal Government enters the privacy of the examination room controlling both standards of practice and choice of practitioner prac-titioner the cost includes loss of freedom. Your doctor's freedom free-dom to treat you in an individual individ-ual way. Your freedom to choose your own doctor. Wnen the physician is socialized, so is the patient. The King Bill is compulsory health-care and socialized med- stand on medical aid for the aged and the King Bill now before Congress. Here's what we favor: The doctors of America believe be-lieve that our aged citizens who need medical care should get it, whether or not they can afford to pay for it. We favor a program of medical aid for the aged sensibly sen-sibly designed to help those who need help but which allows al-lows millions who can afford it to pay for their own medical medi-cal care. Such a program was enacted by Congress last year. It's the Kerr-Mills law which has the enthusiastic support of America's Amer-ica's doctors. Specifically, the law provides provid-es for Federal grants-in-aid to the individual state, enabling them to provide health care for those among the elderly who need it. The benefits of this locally administered program also include the 2 million Americans eligible for Old Age Assistance . . . and protect pro-tect all other senior citizens who cannot meet the costs of a serious or long-lasting illness. ill-ness. The Kerr-Mills law represents repre-sents a common-sense approach to solving a problem that concerns con-cerns us all. As doctors, we support it because our first consideration is the health and life of our patients. As Americans, Amer-icans, we endorse it because helping those who cannot help icine for a specific group that soon will lead to socialized medicine for everyone. For this reason we urge all citizens who agree for the good of our nation to make your opinion known to members of our representatives rep-resentatives in Congress. Wallace S. Brooke, President, Utah Medical Association. |