Letters and Papers Concerning the Trans-Persian Railway and Other Railways in Persia [‎131v] (262/442)

1885
Oral Answers.
1886
HOUSE OF
COMMONS Oral Answers.
[Mr. W. Peel.]
in order to secure medical attendance; will
they be given the 6s. if they have not
consulted a doctor during the year; will
they be allowed to spend the 6s. on other
matters than medical attendance; and if
Is. 6d. out of the 6s. will be considered to
have been given to the insured persons in
lieu of free drugs 1
Mr. MASTERMAN: If the local Insur
ance Committee in any district finds that
adequate medical attendance cannot be
given by the doctors who offer to serve on
a general panel, a variety of alternative
systems of providing medical benefit may
be adopted. If such alternatives prove
impracticable or undesirable, medical
benefit may be suspended. If suspension
takes place, it will be perfectly open to the
insured persons, who will receive a
monetary equivalent, to make such
arrangements for medical attendance and
medicine as they have been making for
many years past, and they will receive for
such arrangements one and a half times
the money which they have hitherto
usually paid for them.
Mr. PEEL: Would the right hon.
Gentleman be good enough to answer the
last two points: Would they be allowed
to spend the 6s. on other matters than
medical attendance; and will Is. 6d. out
of the 6s. be considered to have been
given to the insured person in lieu of free
drugs l
Mr. MASTERMAN: Either of those
alternatives is possible. It is possible
that it may be arranged that a certain
sum of money may be handed over to a
society or themselves for medical atten
dance ; or it is possible that medical
benefit will be completely suspended, in
which case they can do what they like
with the money.
Mr. PEEL: How would they be able to
get proper medical attendance for the 6s.
in view of the fact that the persons bene
fited will have to be insured l In this
case they are not insured.
Mr. MASTERMAN : They can easily get
insured. There is no difficulty in the
matter. Up to now anyone in the working
classes has been able to get medical at
tendance and drugs for something like an
average of 4s. a year. He will now, for a
payment of 2s. 8d., get 6s. a year if medi
cal benefit is suspended. I do not see any
thing to complain of.
Mr. PEEL: In order to obtain these
benefits will they be obliged to form ap
proved societies on the lines of the old
friendly societies, or how otherwise will
they be able to get benefits l
Mr. MASTERMAN : That is one possible
alternative. They may form medical 'in
stitutes, friendly societies, or sick clubs.
There are dozens of alternatives by which
they may be able to obtain medical
benefits.
MARQUESS of TULLiBARDI NE : Is
the medical benefit guaranteed!
Mr. MASTERMAN : No; there is medi
cal benefit, and the alternative is a mone
tary payment.
Domestic Servants.
41. Mr. FELL asked if domestic servants
must in every case attend personally at
the post office and fill up a form before
they can obtain their cards under the
National Insurance Act; and, if this prac
tice is being acted on at many post offices,
will he give other instructions!
Mr. MASTERMAN: Domestic servants,
like other employed persons, must obtain
their cards at the post office if they are
not members of approved societies, and
they must, like other employed persons,
fill up a form of application (which only in
volves writing their name and address and
signing and dating the form) in order to
obtain their cards. If they are unable to
attend at the post office themselves they
can arrange for someone else to get forms
of application and, after they have signed
these, to get the cards as well; or the em
ployers can obtain cards for them if they so
desire.
Mr. FELL: In order to make the matter
quite clear, may I ask if each servant has
to apply personally at the post office for
a card, or can one servant or the lady of
the house apply also in respect of fellow
servants ? That is a point w r hich it is par
ticularly desired to have cleared up. And
may I ask whether identical instructions
have been given to all the post offices!
Mr. MASTERMAN: Identical instruc
tions have been given to all post offices.
Each servant need not attend personally
to get a card, but each servant will have
to fill up the form.
Mr. G. LOCKER-LAMPSON : What
remedy has an insured person who is not
able to obtain the benefits for which he
has paid?