Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1945 / Verhovay Journal

Page 8

Verhovay Journal

May 9, 1945

ONLY M. D. PHYSICIAN MEDICAL CERTIFICATES HONORED BY VERHOVAY

THE M. D. PROBLEM

A controversy of growing intensity is raging around the question whether or not the Verhovay should waive the rule according to which only M. D. physicians’ medical certificates are recognized when sick-benefit claims are submitted. Wartime conditions have added to the acuteness of the problem, for due to the fact that thousands of the nation’s physicians are with the armed forces, there are not” enough physicians in the country and, therefore, sick people are often forced by necessity to tpall a physician. other than M. D., in case of sickness.

A memorial of the “Ohio Association of Osteopathic Physicians and surgeons” was read at the last meeting of the Board of Directors in which the Association requested the Board to waive the provision of the By-laws pertaining to this question.

Nevertheless, the Board of Directors adhered to the provisions of the By-laws and reiterated that only M. D. physicians’ medic\l certificates can be recognised for the payment of sick-benefits.

The same rule holds with medical certificates accompanying ápplications for m e m b e r s h i p certificates which also are approved only if completed by M. D. physicians.

ij

The Board of Directors i instructed the editor of the i Journal to write a detailed i article dealing with the j various aspects of this c problem, and, there by, in- c form the ^membership as to t the necessity of having their \ sick-benefit claims certified j by no other than M. D. i physicians. , 1

£

THE PROVISION OF t

THE BY-LAWS. f

Studying the problem we must first of all point to \ the fact, that the By-Laws, v is amended by the ^943 Con- t vention of the Verhovay F.I. t Association, state in para- o graph 37 that “the kind of o sickness, its duration, and v Ihe fact that the member \is under M. D. medical treat- \\ ment shall be certified by a n ohysician (M. D.) admitted v o practice according to theo aids of the state in which i g '■he sick member lives on a \ n orm furnished by the As- j p 'ociation. Such certificate \ p nust also contain that the a ‘ick member is receiving vi If. D. medical treatment at fi

least ev<%y seventh day” etc. etc.

The full text of the above paragraph mentions exactly 7 times that the physician certifying the illness must be a Medical Doctor (M. D.) According to the insurance laws pertaining to fraternal organizations, the Verhovay is bound by its own Bylaws which were submitted to the Insurance Department from where no objections where ■ forthcoming against any of the provisions of the By-laws.

Naturally, if any of the provisions set forth in the By-laws would be contrary to the laws of the State, objection would have been raised against such provisions and the Association would have been instructed to amend them to conform with the laws of the state pertaining to such matters.

This provision of the Bylaws conforms with the insurance laws of the State which granted a Charter to the Verhovay. Since the By-laws are binding, the Association cannot waive any of its provisions except by the act of the Convention.

CONVENTION UPHELD M. D. PROVISION

We know for a fact that a great many c^the delegates to the last Convention wanted to have the M. D. provision amended.

They claimed, justly so, that physicians are overworked nowadays and, there fore, resent “wasting their time” with completing medical certificates. They found other than M. D physicians, more willing to cooperate with the requirements. They insisted that there are mány towns' where there are no M. D. physicians and felt that members residing in such localities are discriminated i against by the adherence of I the Association to the M. D. provision.

It must be remembered, however, that the By-Laws were amended by neither the Supreme Officers, nor the members of the Board cf Directors but by th bodyj }f the delegates of the Con-! mention.

The Committee entrusted with the study of the amend nents proposed by the : various districts, consisted )f approximately 30 delegates. Many of them were ! n favor of changing the ' provisions of the By-Laws )ertaining to this question; tnd were sent to the Con-j rention with instructions' ] rom their resp. Districts to t;

demand that more liberal provisions be adopted.

The Committee was in session for almost a week. It studied the question thoroughly. It heard the Medical Adviser and the Counsel and listened to various opinions. It finally completed its business and presented to the Convention a series of amendments which did not affect the M.D. provision. The Convention again discussed the proposed amendments- and ended up by upholding the old provision of the By- Laws according to which Medical Certificates afe recognized for the payment of sick benefits only, if completed by M. D. physicians. Surely the members of the Committee must have found reasons that led them to decide to uphold the old provisions and to give no consideration to the opinion of those proposing more liberal provisions.

Surely the members of the Convention must have found ample reason to discard the idea cf changing the M. D. provision especially since popular demand was great for such an amendment before the Convention commenced.

than Medical Doctors where not as widely recognized as they are at present. Osteophatic physicians apd

others have made great advances during the last few years, as far as gaining public recognition is concerned. In some states they are even permitted to perform operations and to administer intricate treatments, while other states

have denied them the right to do so, at least up to the present time.

And that is where the difficulty arises. Obviously, an insurance organization which is licensed to operate in more than a dozen States, cannot permit itself to make its decisions as to the merits of the claims and aplications on the basis of medical regulations which vary with every State. There would be endless complications, unavoidable errors, and there would be hundreds of cases of unjustly rejected claims and applications as well as unjustifiedly honored claims and approved applications.

123 delegates of the Con vention decided to upholc the old rules and obvioush they had good reasons foi doing so.

The fact is that the ques tion of amending the pro visions of the By-laws per tabling to the M. D. rule cannot come up again unti the next Convention. Onlj the Convention has the right to amend the By-lawi and as long as the Convention lets this provision stand, neither the Supreme Officers, nor the Directors can make it ineffective. This is the first and main reason why medical certificates either certifying the illness of' a member, or , accompanying membership applications cannot be honored by the Association unless they are completed by an M. D. physician.

The text of both, the sick benefit claim forms and the membership applications is printed so that every physician can immediately note that only an M. D. physician is qualified to complete either of them. Where the physician signs his name, the printed letters, M.D., appear in heavy print.

WHY THIS PROVISION?

The M. D. provision of the By-laws dates back to the ime when physicians other

It should be remembered that our business is insurance and not the establishing of the merits oi the various schools tof medical science. There must be a dependable rule if chaos is to be avoided. In finding this rule we can be led by nothing else but by the fact that there is only one group of physicians which is recognized in every State of the Union, and this is that of the M.D. physicians. We must leave it to the States and to their Department of Public Health to determine the rights and privileges of the various medical orders. We can’t do that.

As long as the American Medical Association is recognized as the highest authority in the medical field in the United States, we can’t do anything but conform to its standards.

It is naturally to the benefit of the entire membership if the Association safeguards their interest by approving applications for membership certificates only if the. applicants are acceptable according to the highest medical standards. It is the duty of the Officers of the Association to protect the funds which are the common property of the entire membership, by satisfying claims only if the condition of the claimants meets the tests applied by those physicians who are nationally considered as

being best _ equipped and adhering to the highest standards which medical profession could develop.

We can easily understand that the M.D. Provision is a draw-back as far as soliciting new members is concerned and also, that it often means some sort of a hardship on members who claim sick-benefits. But in the long run it pays to adhere to the highest standards instead of making more liberal provisions. It is not enough to secure a great number of new members. If many of these new members, secured under more liberal rules, would turn out to be unable to meet the physical requirements according to the high standads of the American Medical Association, we would soon start paying sick benefits as well as death benefits after members for whom claims where filed just a year or two after joining the Association. It is better not to secure a new member than pay a thousand dollars in exchange for a year’s dues.

* * *

It is for these reasons that the Board of Directors urges all members of the Sick Benefit Department to call an M.D. phyhician in case of illness for the Board is convinced that the members of the American Medical Associatian are capable of rendering the best assistance any illness may require.

While some States are more liberal than others in giving recognition to various schools of thought in medical science, the Association cannot follow the various states in the respect. All the Association can do — and it does so for the benefit and protection of the entire membership — is to adhere to the highest standards and follow the trend of general recognition which, up to now, leans exclusively towards the American Medical Association and its members, the M. D. physicians.--------------v--------------I believe that the time given to refutation in philosophy is usually time lost. Of the many attacks directed by many thinkers against each other, what now remains? Nothing, or assuredly very little. That which counts and endures is the modicum of jositive truth which each con;ributes. The true statement s, of itself, able to displace the arroneous idea, and becomes, without our having taken the rouble of refuting anyone, the jest of refutations.

Henri Bergson