The establishment of a state system in Ontario caused perturbation among the insurance companies which had been writing workmen's compensation in surance there and which are now prohibited from do ing that business. Many employers dislike the fact that they are compelled to insure thru the State Board, not having the choice of insuring with the companies.
The opponents of the state system take this ground: By eliminating the state as an administrator of the act, workmen's compensation will be compulsory— that is, if a workman is injured, he will obtain com pensation. At the same time, the employer of labor automatically assumes liability for accidents to his workmen, but whether or not he takes insurance is optional with him, just as in the case of fire or life in surance. The state, therefore, would not be bur dened with the troubles of administering a workmen's compensation law, the workmen would be entitled to and would receive compensation, and the employer would have freedom of action in the matter of taking insurance, as lie should have.
Another serious defect in the proposed Ontario leg islation is the lack of limitation of compensation. Without limitation, the act is dangerous.
14. Health would appear that be tween 1840 and 1850, insurance to cover periods of sickness was written, or an attempt made to write it, in the United States. Companies were organized for this purpose, the fu•st being the Massachusetts Health Insurance Company of Boston. Others were organ ized in Philadelphia and Jersey City. Apparently not until 1897, did the business commence really to become of much moment. In the following year, 1898, the accident companies began to issue policies making provision for indemnity during periods of sickness, and this has been the great factor that has developed the business to its present state, ranking as one of the successful minor branches of casualty surance. It provides indemnity for temporary disa
bility, permanent disability, hospital charges and surgical benefits.
The interesting feature in connection with health insurance is not what it has done, but what it pro poses to The income—$6,000,000—from this form of insurance at the present time shows that it has not been taken up very largely by the commu nity. But at the present time, owing very largely to the success of workmen's compensation, there is a de termined effort being made to place it in much the same class as health insurance, that is, to make it com pulsory so' far as that may be possible under the con stitutions of the several states and the United States.
It must be remembered that workmen's compensa tion dealing with injuries which can be traced quite directly to the business in which the injured person is engaged, furnish a very good starting point from which to assess the damages. But illness, as typhoid fever or any other disease that may be covered by the scope of the law, might be acquired in a wholly differ ent place than the place of one's employment. Prob ably much work that may be called of a pioneer na ture will have to be done before this form of insurance can be successfully established on anything like a large scale.
The experience of foreign companies is cited as affording just grounds for what ought to be done in this country, but many things are different; social customs, habits, and policies, which make a plan like this possible in foreign countries, are different here, and much consideration will have to be given to that difference. It does seem reasonable to expect, how ever, that out of the discussion that is now going on some workable tentative plan will be developed whereby the value of health insurance to the com munity at large will be demonstrated, and once de monstrated will be adopted.