WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER TORONTO STAR No matter what name they give it, what the members of the Saskatoon and District Medical Society voted for was, in effect, a strike. For the two-day emergency meeting of their provincial associa- tion, doctors’ offices in Saskatoon will be closed and only emer- gency services will be provided. And if the government goes ahead with its compulsory medical care plan the Saskatoon doctors propose that normal practices would be halted. What makes the proposed action of the Saskatoon doctors totally unacceptable is that the industry they are involved in is the preservation of human life. What is even more shocking is that the doctors propose this extreme course in the face of a thoroughly reasonable offer made to them by the Saskatchewan government’s Medical Care Com- mission. The commission proposed that under the provincial goyern- ment’s medical insurance plan doctors be paid in precisely the same way precisely the same amounts as they now receive under the voluntary medical insurance schemes which they themselves have established. Fees paid will be exactly the same as those paid under the doc- tors’ own plans. This schedule of fees was drawn up by the doctors themselves in 1959 and is still in effect. It applies to both insured and uninsured patients. When a patient is covered by one of the doctors’ voluntary in- surance plans, the plan pays the doctor on the patient’s behalf the fee for the service listed in the schedule, less 15 per cent because the doctor receives immediate cash and is put to no collection expense. The government of Premier Woodrow Lloyd will pay the same fees. The doctor can choose to receive his payment directly from the government, or he can choose to have his payment routed through his patient. The government, in other words, has offered the doctors ex- actly the same deal they drew up for themselves. Dr. H. D. Dal- gleish, president-of the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons, admits that it is a good offer financially. But he con- tinues to object that the government-operated plan will still be politically controlled. This is a legitimate concern of the doctors. But the govern- ment has made it clear that it will not interfere in any way with treatments prescribed for patients by their doctors. It has repeatedly asked the college to name medical men to serve on the commission which will direct the financial aspects of the plan, so that the medical viewpoint can be fully repre- sented. It has now met the doctors’ financial demands. The doctors in Saskatoon have replied to this reasonable offer with a threat of strike. This has all the earmarks of a last panic reaction to what the doctors now recognize is inevitable—the establishment of a gov- ernment-supported medical insurance plan, put into effect by a democratically elected government having a clear mandate from the people. If the doctors go ahead with their strike action they will be be- traying themselyes, and the cause of humanity. Toronto University Backs National Health Plan The School of Hygiene, University of Toronto, has presented a brief to the Royal Commission on Health Care giving strong support to the idea of a comprehensive national health plan. The brief to the Commission was presented by Dr. A. J. Rhodes and Dr. John Hastings. Canada can afford such a plan immediately re- gardless of its costs, the U of T spokesmen told the public enquiry. Dr. Rhodes, who is director of the School of Hygiene, said that the plan should be administered provincially with federal financial assistance. Preventive Medicine The doctors suggested that em- phasis should be on the planning and promotion of mental and physi- cal fitness, and the prevention of dis- ease. Some countries have adopted public plans which have turned out to be just sickness insurance. Pre- ventive medicine is even more im- portant than curative medicine, was the U of T doctors’ contention. Asked by the chairman of the Commission, Prof. O. J. Firestone, if a government-operated plan would mean government control of doctors and of the quality of medical care, Dr. Rhodes replied “I think those fears are quite groundless.” Progress Plan The brief proposed a National Plan for Progress in Public Health prepared by the Department of National Health and Welfare in co- operation with the provinces. The government should accept full responsibility for personal health services just as it does for public and hospital services with the pro- vincial authorities establishing a Personal Health Services agency. Dr. Claude Bissell, president of the University of Toronto, urged the Royal Commission that health ser- vices and research in health fields be dealt with as a national responsi- bility even though in Canada health is largely a provincial matter. Medical Plan Notices In Mail Beginning July 1, a Hospital Plan card will legally entitle its owner and his dependents to insured medi- cal care services. The Medical Care Insurance Com- mission has begun mailing registra- tion notices to all individuals and heads of families who hold current Hospital Plan cards, informing them of their automatic registration under the Medical Care Plan. Residence requirements are the same for both the Hospital and Medical Care In- surance Plans. Automatic Procedure By this automatic procedure nearly 900,000 Saskatchewan citizens and their dependents already have been registered for the forthcoming Medi- cal Care Plan. When requesting insured medical care services from his doctor, a patient will present his Hospital Plan card. Beginning July 1, the number on this card will be used for both plans. The card-holder will be entitled to insurance coverage for medical services, surgical services, maternity services, anaesthetist services and specialist services. When a member goes to a specialist without first being referred to him by his family doctor, the specialist will be paid by the plan at general practitioner rates and may bill the member for the balance. When referred by his family physician, a member will be fully covered for specialist services. Outside Care When a card-holder needs medi- cal care outside the province, he will continue to be covered by the Medical Care Plan. A member will be reimbursed for, services from legally qualified physicians at the rates payable to Saskatchewan phy- sicians. The patient must obtain an itemized statement from the out- of-province doctor and forward it together with his registration number to the Medical Care Insurance Com- mission. If a member moves out of the province permanently, he will be eligible for out-of-province benefits for the first three months outside Saskatchewan. Services already provided under other public programs such as Workmen's Compensation, Cancer Commission, and the Hospital Plan, will not be included under the Medi- cal Care Plan. Non - insured services under the Medical Care Plan include drugs, dentistry, ambulance, testing for eye- glasses, and the provision of eye- . glasses and other appliances. No Medical Care premiums are payable for 1962. Stamp Puzzle The trading stamps situation gets crazier day by day. It is now an- nounced that the F. W. Woolworth Company in the U.S.A. is going to start a department to redeem trad- ing stamps. Woolworth will not give coupons or trading stamps in its own stores, but will simply set up centres for the redemption of trading stamps of other companies. MEET “OLD, THE TOUGHEST THING ON FOUR LEGS And Then You Will Appreciate Why We Called Our New Leather “IRONHIDE” Developed right in our own Tannery, this remarkable new leather has outstanding qualities — highly water-resistant, soft as silk to the touch, tough in wear as its name- sake’s hide, and pleasing on the eye in a new shade called “BUNYAN BROWN” Only Genuine Paris Logging Boots are made with “IRONHIDE” This is our own way of paying tribute to THE TOUGHEST THING ON TWO LEGS THE B.C. LOGGER 1907 PIERRE PARIS & SONS 51 West Hastings Street Vancouver 3, B.C. Family Teamwork in Craftsmanship since 1907