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At your service day and night Saturday Sunday one of the around the clock and around the calendar hospital all that your stuff. Or with the with the American Hospital Association and its member hospitals in your community presenting at your service I transcribe series in the public interest decide to take you behind the scenes in the your hospital who's a good hospital care costs money and no one wants less than the best your hospital is acutely aware of both those facts more than that your hospital recognizes its responsibility to you in making it possible for you to budget for care through voluntary prepayment the principle is simple and democratic hospital bill often works hardship on the savings of one single family but through Blue Cross the people in the community paying a small amount each month can easily budget for the hospital care they need that's voluntary repayment your choice to make so maybe us elect not to prepay your hospital care that's your privilege and to illustrate a point let's take a look at the case of Wilma Howard we'll call her patient in city hospital a public institution a stablished primarily to care for those who can't afford to pay through private means Wilma Howard who lived with her friend Jane Patton they both worked at the same downtown store. And that morning it happened hazy behead the alarm went off ten minutes ago I know it Jane but I just can't seem to get going well you'd better shake a leg I can just see the expression on all birches face if you're late. But I guess I don't feel very good I wondered you seemed restless during the night toss and turn no mind sorry if I kept you awake Jane what was the terrible I don't know exactly sort of pains my midriff like I need something that I shouldn't and I good dinner last night but it was met stew of yours that was super well anyway get going I can't afford to be dark for being late tonight I suppose I can Oh OK so I guess and felt worse than this I guess I can make it all right back to the salt mines Oh Jane you don't know where I could find a nice young handsome millionaire to you if I did you think I'd tell you I'm not that simple Now hurry the room. Jane and Wilma were not much different from a few hundreds of thousands of other girls over the country young women who earn their own living working in offices and stores and factories always waiting of course even though they don't always admit it for the one particular young man the come along in the meantime they budgeted their expenses carefully or so they thought to live within a somewhat meager income when she first went to work at the store Jane remembered what the personal records. Now we have your income tax withholding for Ms Patton and your bond application Yes Is there anything else we have Blue Cross hospitalization available for all of our employees and Blue Shield for their medical coverage hospitalization Yes we feel it's very important for our people to carry this kind of protection it gives you a sense of security you wouldn't have otherwise well I don't know I'm alone that is I have many realities to worry about it's gotten so I just turned down insurance almost without thinking I guess I'm almost afraid to break the habit then you have any type of hospitalization now no I just never thought I'd need any people really don't know when they might have to go to the hospital let me tell you how I look at it of course I insure my home against fire and hope I never have to collect Well then it's really almost gambling isn't it maybe just throwing money away I don't look at it that way at all when it comes to the health of myself and my family in fact I'm pretty sure I'll need the protection one out of every three or four families has a hospital case each year but in my case when the kid chances are one and nine if you're going to the hospital this year what's more important the protection is yours for your lifetime plenty of time for the law of averages to favor your investment with this Blue Cross who is behind it I mean is it a good firm more exactly Mr Patten Blue Cross is the plan approved by the American Hospital Association a plan I don't quite see who my doing business with well in the case of Blue Cross the hospitals themselves have contracted to provide you with a service you need when you need it well I'm awfully healthy I just can't imagine what I'd ever have to go to the hospital. They don't know it just happens do I have to take this out to get the job of course not it's purely voluntary up to you you can do what you want about it well I'm going to have a pretty hard time getting along. That would seem all the more reason for you maybe later but right now I don't think I can manage thanks just the same. It was difficult to budget on James modest salary. And even when Wilma came to live with her sharing expenses they still didn't seem to have much not for the things they wanted and as for hospitalisation say Janie you know Mr Burns and personnel want me to take out some hospitalization the store has for employees Yeah I'll need to need to take it on my salary I didn't think I could afford it after all it cost almost a much as much as my shampoo instead of the Beauty Shop and if I don't get my hair done every other week at the beauty shop it looks just a fright yes we've got something to show from that well that's the way I looked at it and besides I'm as healthy as can be why can't remember when I was ever sick me there not since I had the measles about ten years ago so why should we put out money for something we don't expect to collect on. It's all a sense of values of what seems important to you good hospitalization might cost you as much as a package of cigarettes a day or maybe about the same amount you'd spend on movies but to a great many people somewhere in their lives good hospital and medical care just wasn't made to seem important and that's strange too considering that this one body we have can't be turned in on a new model but must last a lifetime or maybe it's just a natural optimism like Jane and Wilma who could see no reason for spending even a small amount of money each month for pre-paid health care and even later that fateful day. It didn't occur to either of them that a hospital stay might answer the use your loved to be will know how are you feeling not so hot I don't know James It's funny how something you ate the pain I think is that just won't let up they want you go on home I think you ought to Gigi I wouldn't dare ask Miss Birch to get off you know how busy we are today OK so I'll just tell I went to get back from lunch that you were sick and had to go home who would you Jane would you really sure thing I'm not afraid of or now you go on home and rest and you'll feel OK By the time I get home schooled now the you in the. When Jane got home that evening well mom wasn't there and there was a strange confusion around the tiny apartment the bed all rumpled toilet articles in disarray in complete bewilderment Jane answered a knock at the door to find the janitor Oh George can you tell me whether I am your friend Michelle are yes I'm still worried what happened here all their lives. She took sick my cliche I know he was sick she came home from work sick but where is she. Oh yeah Milo After all she were shake when she come in and grow actually come on up to the apartment. And there she was doubled up and in terrible pain what did she do your wife I mean well actually she didn't ever so much drool as a nation and she said no and funny I think and now she lies a few girls who work. Do bad and they don't see my diploma they do but we don't I mean Wilma and I we really just didn't dig it out you may know that's bad and you might know something like this could have. Oh Stop talking and tell me what happened to Wilma well. We didn't know what to do Bob said you didn't have any money at all no folks and no. So my why have you called this at the burger and Internet. Younger he said it was probably been decided oh. We never thought anything like this could happen we'll know what to do. Why didn't we think that something like this could happen in the world. It wasn't that Wilma how I didn't get excellent care at the hospital supported by the city she did for hospitals of all the many types and purposes I dedicated to the same ideal of the highest possible quality of service it was just that she felt she didn't belong there that she could have managed without being a burden on the taxpayers of the community. Oh Jane they've been wonderful to me here but I'm so ashamed shame I don't get it because if I took something that didn't belong to me are you out of your head or something Gene honestly I feel terrible about it you see I don't earn an awfully good salary but it's enough to get by just about it but we do get by on it and when Mr Burns in personnel offered me that Blue Cross hospitalization Well I didn't take it and I didn't either remember yes but the point is we could have well I don't remember how much it was I don't either a couple of dollars or maybe a little more a month something like that for both Blue Cross and that Blue Shield to not very much Jane we never missed it well I suppose not we could have managed I'm sure I was looking at it all wrong you see sort of out of focus some of the little things look more and brought in to me than being able to pay my own hospital bill you know I see what you mean and I like to be able to pay my own way Jane Oh if I just couldn't that be different but this time I could have easy and Jane I want you to stop in and talk to Mr Burns and personnel get your name on one of those applications before something happens to you the. Moment it's difficult to budget in comics true and the needs and desires of people are many it's hard to tell which item of expense is the most important which can be cut down or omitted but healthcare that's not easy to ignore. And so you see Mr Burns we just never realized that things like this could happen and it's always that way you never expect to be sick to have an operation or anything like that but it happens you no longer live in the day when people went to the hospital only when they were critically ill medical science has changed a lot in just these recent years made a great deal of progress many methods of treatment today require the person to be in the hospital to get the proper care even though they're not what you'd call it an acute case I see that now and the store has Blue Cross I've heard a lot about them I'm sure you have everybody has I don't know what the figure is right now but I remember some time past reading that over thirty six million people had Blue Cross and millions more in other kinds of voluntary prepayment insurance so I see a lot of people do believe it's important now Blue Cross that's the hospital zone plan you know no I didn't you know yes you just show them your identification card and Blue Cross makes payment for your care directly to the hospital if Wilma had only had something like this poor kid she felt so badly about it well she's just like most other people who feel they can't afford hospitalization and they come up against the sober facts of what really can happen they find they can't afford to be without it. The American Hospital Association with its membership of the hospitals in this country goes on record. That the about a good Hospital Association believes that the most important step toward better distribution of hospital care is the expansion of Blue Cross and other voluntary prepayment plan the hospitals in your locality endorse and support Blue Cross as a sound means of budgeting for the cost of sickness it is a part of their service to the community and to learn more about your hospital how you can help and cooperate with it listen to your service I transcribed. Five series by the American Hospital Association. And its member hospitals in your community who believe that a high quality of hospital care should be available to you and to all people. Or are. Our room.