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Show The A.MA's Coming Crusade The American Medical association associ-ation plans shortly to intensify its efforts to discredit what it calls "socialized medicine," an exaggerated term which might more accurately be labeled "national "na-tional health insurance." Within the next few weeks the A.M. A. is scheduling a giant gi-ant advertising campaign that will engulf the daily and weekly week-ly press and radio. What the A.M.A. eventually hopes to do is to make national health insurance in-surance anathema in the minds of the American public. A detailed description of the elements of national health insurance in-surance would become complicated, compli-cated, but, in brief, the A.M. A.'s supposed socialized medicine, medi-cine, as proposed by President Truman, would work like this; An employee would pay health insurance as he now pays social security, with all payments pay-ments based on total salary. These payments, matched with equal payments by employers, would go into the national insurance in-surance trust fund in the U. S. Treasury. This .fund would be used to finance the entire program. pro-gram. Then, when any worker became sick, he could go to the doctor and hospital of his ' choice, strictly at the expense of Uncle Sam. Each doctor, also, would have the privilege of selecting se-lecting his own patients. The health insurance plan would be operated through the respective states, and not through Washington. And each community, principally through its doctors and hospitals, would keep control of all local medical arrangements. However, the A.M.A and a majority of the nation's doctors dislike the prospects of working under such a comprehensive and stereotyped system, even though payments of bills would be insured in-sured through it. Doctors, quite naturally, want to continue the individualism of the past. But this individualism is one reason why there are cries for national health insurance. In the past an American minority, because of lack of funds, has had to do without adequate medical care. A worker, if injured in-jured on the job, receives compensation, com-pensation, but not if he becomes sick; and an' extended illness of the head of the family may often mean bankruptcy for the family itself. Employers often assist their employees through times of illness, ill-ness, but this practice is not universal. un-iversal. And funds are not always al-ways available to keep up voluntary vol-untary health insurance plans. All this has created a need for more adequate medical coverage. cov-erage. But probably the best solution so-lution for the entire dilemma lies with the doctors themselves. They have the sole means of silencing the demands for national na-tional health insurance. They can do this by sticking strictly to the code of their profession. pro-fession. Theoretically, a doctor is the servant of humanity. He is always to be depended upon in a time of need. Unfortunately, Unfortun-ately, though, many doctors are more concerned with their bank account than with theory, that is, the code of their profession. All doctors, and the vast majority ma-jority of them already do, must combat sickness wherever it occurs, oc-curs, regardless of prevailing financial conditions, Often they will lose money, but most people, peo-ple, through sheer gratitude, place their medical bills at the top of the list. In cases where an individual is forced to run up bills larger than he can pay, the doctor concerned should feel obligated to work minus a profit, and even at a loss if necessary, to meet his obligation to society. Ways must be found to make up this money elsewhere, else-where, as everyone is certainly entitled to adequate medical care in a free and humane nation. na-tion. If the .medical profession is really sincere in its desire to combat effectively agitation for national health insurance, the individual doctor must bear most of the battle. The A.M.A., by exercising a partial dictatorship dictator-ship over its members, has lost considerable prestige with the average citizen. But the local doctor has been and always will be held in high esteem, so long as he strives for his community as well as for himself. Although a doctor is certainly entitled to a high percentage of profit, considering con-sidering his long training period, in the long run, the needs of humanity must come first. Agitation for national health insurance can be nullified in this way, but the doctors must present a united front to win. - GWH |