406 



MEDICAL SECTION 



part of the benefit to make direct payment either to 

 midwife or maternity hospital. The hospital now 

 makes use of a fixed form of agreement with the 

 insured person, viz. : " The insured person and 

 maternity and women's hospital are agreed that 

 a sum of shall be retained by the Society from 



the maternity benefit, for which this certificate is to 

 be used, and paid to the hospital " ; but, notwith- 

 standing this agreement, some Societies refuse to 

 deduct the fee or donation, as it is called, from the 

 sum paid to the insured person. At least one 

 Insurance Society pays only 155. immediately after 

 the confinement, retaining 1 53. for fourteen days lest 

 any emergency should arise within that time ; while 

 another Society sends its agents to the homes to pay 

 maternity benefit at an hour when both parents are 

 usually present. 



In some cases where the woman makes direct 

 application, and explains to the Society officials that 

 the husband will certainly abuse the benefit, the 

 money is paid to her when she applies. Payment of 

 benefit " in kind " is quite unknown, beyond the 

 occasional payment of midwives' or hospital fees 

 above mentioned. 



One notable effect of the passing of the Act is 

 the raising of midwives' fees, usually from los. to 

 12s. 6d., whether the person attended be insured or 

 not. This is a decided hardship in cases where 

 benefit has not been received, or where received is 

 less than the fee, as is often the case with the deposit 

 contributor. 



In a circular addressed to Societies dated January 

 9, 1913, regarding sickness and maternity benefit, 

 (by the National Health Insurance Commission 

 [Scotland]), it is stated that ''there is only one case 

 in which the maternity benefit is less than 305., that 

 is, in the case of aliens." 



Fortunately, this refers to Society contributors 



