332  Present  Status  of  Health  Insurance,     j^'"  ^''May^^9''2'S: 
we  sincerely  trust  that  the  more  it  is  studied  the  more  this  fact  will 
sink  into  the  consciousness  of  the  nation. 
VOLUNTARY  EMPLOYEE  INSURANCE  THE  REMEDY. 
At  bottom,  of  course,  there  is  some  modicum  of  sense  to  be 
found  in  the  movement  for  compulsory  health  insurance.  Agita- 
tions of  this  sort  are  not  all  bosh  and  moonshine.  The  difficulty 
always  is  to  separate  the  real  from  the  unreal — the  wheat  from  the 
chaff — the  desirable  from  the  undesirable. 
Compulsory  health  insurance,  as  advocated  by  its  friends,  is 
simply  impossible.  It  would  do  far  more  harm  than  good.  But 
it  may  be  possible  to  strip  the  movement  of  its  evils  and  get  down 
to  the  kernel  of  truth  residing  somewhere  in  the  heart  of  the  situa- 
tion. It  is  perhaps  undeniable  that  some  means  of  insurance  pro- 
tection against  sickness  should  be  afforded  to  certain  groups  of 
people.    How"  can  this  be  afforded  wisely  and  rationally? 
Mr.  Dunning  has  made  a  survey  of  the  conditions  existing  in  the 
plants  of  our  members,  and  his  findings  are  printed  in  connection 
with  this  report.  It  will  be  seen  that  already  manufacturers  are 
groping  their  way  in  an  effort  to  deal  with  the  employee  in  a  way  best 
calculated  to  protect  both  him  and  the  employer.  It  may  be  ex- 
plained also  that  during  the  last  few  years  insurance  companies 
have  offered  manufacturers  a  type  of  protection  considerably  in 
advance  of  group  insurance  in  its  original  form.  Originally  group 
insurance  covered  death  losses  only,  but  it  is  now  possible  to  buy 
protection  which  covers  sickness  as  well. 
The  insurance  companies  are  earnestly  engaged  in  studying  the 
whole  problem,  but  they  find  it  a  complicated  one.  The  laws  in  the 
different  States  are  very  confusing,  and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  suit  any  one  form  of  insurance  to  differing  conditions  and  require- 
ments. The  general  aim  seems  to  be  to  get  up  some  form  of  group 
insurance  which  will  cover  everything  not  taken  care  of  under  the 
State  compensation  laws.  Evidently,  as  appears  from  Mr.  Dun- 
ning's  survey,  some  of  our  own  members  are  already  buying  insurance 
of  this  sort.  Ultimately,  no  doubt,  the  manufacturer  who  desires 
to  protect  both  himself  and  his  people  against  losses  from  sickness 
will  find  it  possible  to  get  just  what  he  wants  at  a  reasonable  cost, 
and  when  this  time  comes  the  solution  of  the  problem  will  have  been 
realized. 
For  voluntary  insurance  is  one  thing,  and  compulsory  insurance 
