Report on maternity insurance
1927 1927 1920s 16 pages 12 The official estimate of the cost is £1,050,000 in the case (inclusive of the State grant) of men and £300,000 in the case of women annually.* The Majority Report proceeded on the assumption that no fresh expenditure could be incurred. The Minority...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
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London : Co-operative Printing Society Ltd.
1927
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/13E3A33C-FE68-4B5D-B911-E982FDCC5B33 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/32C1A238-4B0B-4919-9D79-DBFB0756BED3 |
| Summary: | 1927
1927
1920s
16 pages
12 The official estimate of the cost is £1,050,000 in the case (inclusive of the State grant) of men and £300,000 in the case of women annually.* The Majority Report proceeded on the assumption that no fresh expenditure could be incurred. The Minority (Labour) Report assumed that an outlay which has for its return the well-being of mother and child is essential and is "good business." Such outlay would be compensated by the decrease of sickness. There would be economy on services now rendered costly by adult illness largely avoidable if life was guarded from its inception. Prevention would take the place of cure. The Minority agreed with the Majority in the view that any enhanced contributions from employers and employed was out of the question. Any expenditure involved should be borne as the original Act of 1911 contemplated from contributions from the Exchequer and the rates.† They felt justified, moreover, in assuming that the better provision of services for women at childbirth would effect a saving in the expenditure on Sickness and Disablement Benefit to married women under the Insurance Act to be followed later by a diminution of sickness in all classes of insured persons as the children born under the improved services came of insurable age. The Minority proposed an extended Medical Service accompanied by periods of maintenance for nursing mothers and the correlation of the medical services during pregnancy and confinement with the Maternity and Child Welfare services. The Majority had proposed to put the medical side of National Health Insurance under the Local Authorities. The Minority proposed to apply the same principle to the Approved Societies which at present administer Cash Benefits. * Calculations of cost should not, however, overlook the definite evidence available of the great disparity which exists between the sickness rates of married women insured under the National Health Insurance Act and those of unmarried women. In Appendix "A" to the Report of the Royal Commission on National Health Insurance, the Actuarial Committee reports (paragraph 19). "Taking ... the important group of ages 25 to 30 the married women's rate (sickness was 1921, 1.74 times the unmarried women's rate ; in 1922 it was 1.98 times ; and in 1923 2.42 times the unmarried women's rate. The sickness claims of married women are double the corresponding claims, of unmarried women, and the disparity is increasing." And later in a memorandum by the Government Actuary, page 367, paragraph 17, it is stated : "It is evident that in respect of both men and women the case of frequent claims (which include many prolonged claims) must account for an appreciable amount of the total expenditure on sickness and Disablement Benefit." In view of the conclusions of Sir George Newman and Dr. Janet Campbell in respect of the great amount of ill-health and suffering due to causes which are preventable, it is not unreasonable to suggest as was suggested to the Royal Commission that" in the prevention of this evil (maternal mortality) a solution may be found to the problem of excessive expenditure on Disablement Benefit in respect of women." (paragraph 110). † See Section 85 of the Act which has never been put into operation.
292/824/1/114 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |