Weldy, Alice A., R.N., executive secretary, Wisconsin Nurses' Associa- Page 726 1795 2239 West Virginia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Miles C. Stanley, president, statement__ 2028 West Virginia Nurses' Association, Inc., Juliann Ritter, R.N., executive statement___ Westcot, Lynn B., R.N., Tennessee Nurses' Association, Inc., letter dated Western District (Georgia) Dental Society, Dr. J. M. Binns, secretary, White, Dr. Paul D., letter dated August 17, 1961, to Congressman Mills__ 726 2162 724 2207 720 2177 703 1978 2169 2083 Williams, Hon. John Bell, a Representative in Congress from the State of Letter dated July 26, 1961, to Congressman Mills with statement of 2252 Letter dated July 31, 1961, from Boswell Stevens, president, Missis- 2241 572 Williams, Harrison A., Jr., U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey, 1978 2269 Winnebago County (Wis.) Dental Society, Dr. R. A. Juneau, secretary, 2213 1795 Wisconsin Nurses' Association, Inc., Alice A. Weldy, R.N., executive 726 2213 2077 Word, Dr. S. Burford, president, Jefferson County (Ala.) Medical Society, letter dated June 21, 1961, to Congressman Mills 2163 Wright, Max F., secretary-treasurer, Indiana State AFL-CIO, letter dated 2015 Wyoming State Dental Association, Dr. T. J. Drew, secretary-treasurer, letter dated July 28, 1961, to Congressman Mills. 2214 Zander, Arnold S., international president, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, letter dated July 25, 1961, to Congressman Mills.. 1979 Ziegenhain, Johanna and Wilhelmina, letter. 2268 Zimmerman, Anne, executive secretary, Illinois Nurses Association, letter dated July 18, 1961, to Congressman Mills___ 718 76123 O-61-pt. 2——3 HEALTH SERVICES FOR THE AGED UNDER THE SOCIAL SECURITY INSURANCE SYSTEM FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1961 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D.C. The committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to recess, in the committee room, New House Office Building, Hon. Wilbur D. Mills (chairman of the committee) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please be in order. Our first witness this morning is supposed to be Mr. Held, but the Chair understands that Mr. Held has been detained at home and is not here, but that Mr. Arthur L. Adams, secretary of the Golden Ring Council, is here. You have some members of your council, I understand, in the room. Will all of you stand up so that we can see how many are here? Fine. Mr. Keogh was unavoidably detained this morning by his appearance before the Senate Finance Committee in behalf of his bill H.R. 10, to encourage the establishment of voluntary pension plans by self-employed individuals. Mr. Keogh regretted being unable to be present for the testimony of Mr. Adams, representing the Council of Golden Ring Clubs of New York. Mr. Adams, will you come to the witness table, please, sir. You are secretary of the Council of Golden Ring Clubs, I understand. Mr. ADAMS. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. If you will give us your address, we will have identified you. STATEMENTS OF ARTHUR L. ADAMS, SECRETARY, AND ZALMEN J. LICHTENSTEIN, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, COUNCIL OF THE GOLDEN RING CLUBS OF SENIOR CITIZENS Mr. ADAMS. 188-171 19th Road, St. Albans, Queens, Long Island. The CHAIRMAN. Good. You are recognized, sir. Mr. ADAMS (reading statement of Adolph Held, president). Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Adolph Held. I am president of the Council of the Golden Ring Clubs of Senior Citizens. This is a voluntary position. I am accompanied to these hearings by Mr. Arthur Adams, secretary of the Golden Ring Council; Mr. Jack DiNola, chairman, American-Italian Golden Ring Clubs; Mrs. Fannie Kriegsfeld of the Golden Age Club, YM and YWHA; Mr. Lawrence Wiegert, of the Church of Christ, Woodhaven, N.Y.; Mr. Pasech Gliber, of the Golden Ring Clubs; Mrs. Lillian Allen, of the Federation for Social Security, Jersey City, N.J.; Mrs. Cossimo Fucci, American-Italian Golden Ring Club; Mr. Henry Dazang, of the Riis-Red Hook Center of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Zalmen J. Lichtenstein, program director of the Golden Ring Clubs, and Mr. William Cushing, Yorkville Senior Citizens. Once again we are pleased to appear before this committee in behalf of thousands of senior citizens represented in the Council of Golden Ring Clubs of Senior Citizens, to appeal for your favorable action on legislation which would provide hospital care and related services under the social security system. As older citizens, we are aware that illness is a threat that can wipe out years of savings and can place unbearable burdens on our children who are themselves faced with the responsibility of supporting their own families. In our quest for ways to solve this problem, we have come to the conclusion that the King bill has many advantages over alternative proposals. It would minimize pauperism by eliminating the means test. Contributions would not be necessary after retirement, for these would be spread throughout the individuals' working lifetime. It would lower the cost of voluntary insurance for the younger population and it would also lower the costs to the States and local government by cutting down on the need for expansion of public assistance and State hospital programs. It would strengthen our hospitals by providing adequate payment for care which they must render to older persons on a basis that is not fully reimbursed by any agency. As persons who have gathered in Golden Ring Clubs, who are active in religious, fraternal, and civic organizations, all on a voluntary basis, we see no conflict between this needed expansion of the social security system and the continued existence of voluntary institutions, including our great voluntary hospitals. On the other hand, we do feel that reliance on the means test approach favored by organized medicine poses serious problems to millions of older persons who take pride in their ability to support themselves. The reasons we favor a social insurance approach are well known, but, nevertheless, need restatement. We believe that the presence of a means test to provide health benefits is incompatible with the continued dignity and self-reliance of older persons. As Father Joseph M. Becker, S.J., of the Institute of Social Order at St. Louis University, has so wisely said: The use of a means test, even a liberal one, automatically divides the citizens into two groups, the successful and the unsuccessful. The opportunity to receive benefits without wearing the public badge of failure constitutes the most appealing characteristic of social insurance. I ask this committee, which has so much valuable and progressive social legislation to its credit, whether "the public badge of failure" is to be the just reward of otherwise self-supporting senior citizens when they become ill. As you know, we did not oppose the Kerr-Mills bill which increased medical care payments for aged public assistance recipients and which set up the new category of medical assistance for the aged medically indigent. We submit, however, that Kerr-Mills is inadequate in concept and certainly in implementation. For example, in the State of New York, and in the city of New York, this program has not measurably increased the number of eligibles, nor has it increased the number of applicants for health care. All the bill really has done is to permit a shifting of the source of support from the city and State to the Federal Government. It has not resulted in a fundamental expansion of care, but in a change in bookkeeping. We older persons are not impressed by the charge that social security benefits for hospital care are "socialistic." We have never been convinced that the means test program which often involves direct rendering of services by Government institutions is not socialistic, but that a social insurance program is. As senior citizens we are willing to make sacrifices for the preservation of the institutions which have made this Nation great. But we are disheartened by the attempt to shunt our needs for medical care aside by scare words and bogeymen. Those most interested in preserving our great voluntary hospitals and the independence and self-reliance of our senior citizens should look to the social security system as the solution. The younger employed person is covered relatively adequately by voluntary prepayment purchased at the source of his employment. This coverage is often subsidized by his employer. But older persons are not so covered. To make up for the shortcomings of the voluntary prepayment system by using the logical device of social security is to strengthen our voluntary institutions and not to weaken them. To assure that voluntary hospitals will receive adequate payment for our older citizens health care is also to strengthen these institutions and not to weaken them. And to prevent our elder citizens from becoming welfare charges, by the purchase of coverage paid for throughout the working years, is to encourage their productivity and to strengthen our economy. We believe that the Anderson-King bill, when enacted into law, will go far toward making life better for millions of men and women. However, we are opposed to that provision in the bill which would require the payment of a deductible amount toward hospitalization and outpatient diagnostic benefits, because we believe that this is an unnecessary burden for aged beneficiaries to carry. These benefits are not available to anyone without authorization by a physician, therefore, there is no need to create a financial barrier which would be a real hardship for many of the aged. It is argued that a Federal program in this field may result in lowering of standards of hospital care. We do not agree. The King bill has been drawn with the need for high quality of care in mind. We note with interest the inclusion of methods in the King bill that encourage the establishment of hospital utilization committees to assure wise use of services and the encouragement of accreditation of hospitals. |