Doctor Dispels Fog On Insurance Plan by IRA DEAN McCOY, M. D. (Second of 2 Article*.) Washington. — A continuous smokescreen has been laid down by special interests to befog the pub Ik’s mind on what National Health Insurance is and what it would mean to the doctor and the patient. Proponents of ^-National Health Insurance cherish the freedom and intimacy of the doctor-patient re lationship as much as our die-hard opponents. Patients, as now, would select their own doctors; doctors, as now, would accept or reject pa tients. National eHalth Insurance is just a method of paying for med ical care. The only change proposed by ad vocates of Natoinal Health Insur ance is that, instead of the patient paying when and if he has money available, the doctor or the hos pital of his choice would be paid by the insurance system at a rate .. and by a method to which the doc tor had agreed. Those who support National Health Insurance are keenly aware that our nation has fewer physi cians and hospital beds than we need, and these so poorly distribut ed that in some rural counties there are no resident physicians at all, and little or no hospitalisation ac cessible. Nevertheless, it is unrealistk to( argue that National Health Insur ance should be delayed for the pears required to train many more doctors and build many more hos pitals. The supply of medical per sonnel and facilities will expand only when, through insurance, the money to pay for them is guaran teed. Ibis demand depends on fam ilies’ purchasing power for medical care. This is the simple principle of supply and. that administrative i-'; costs would be excessive. The first answer to this objec tion Is that the nation needs to spend more for health. Too many of us hsve been doing without for too long. Moreover, a large part of the expenditures under National Health Insurance would not be new or added expenditures. Money now expended in direct payments for medical care by sick persons would be distributed under the plan in small regular payments from all people. Consequently, the costs