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MEMBERSHIP OF SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1908.

[Source: 1891-1904, Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1908; 1905-1908, advance information furnished by the Office du Travail.]

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With the growth of the membership the percentage of members assisted has decreased. In 1891, as seen from the next table, it was 31.8; in 1900 it was 27.9; in 1904 it decreased to 25.7; and in 1908 it further decreased to 21 per cent of the total active membership.

The average number of days per sick member for which benefits. have been granted is about 20. It increased slightly toward the close of the 14-year period for which statistics are given, while the average number of days of sickness per active member decreased. It amounted to 6.1 days in 1891, 5.6 days in 1900, and 5.1 days in 1904, the last year for which the information was reported.

TOTAL ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP, NUMBER OF MEMBERS ASSISTED, AND DAYS OF SICKNESS PAID FOR BY SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1908. [Source: 1891-1904, Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1908; 1905-1908, advance information furnished by the Office du Travail.]

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The ordinary expenditures of sick-benefit societies for the years 1891 to 1904 are shown in the following table. No data are available. which give for any time subsequent to 1904 the items included in the exhibit:

ORDINARY EXPENDITURES OF SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1904.
[Source: Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1908.]

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Sick benefits constitute naturally the largest item of the ordinary expenditures of sickness insurance societies. They amounted, as shown in the preceding table, to 66 per cent of the total ordinary expenditures during the year 1891. A slight downward tendency, however, is observable since. In 1900, for instance, sick benefits constituted only 63.9 per cent of the total ordinary expenses, and in 1904 they further decreased to 62.9 per cent.

Next in importance to that item range the medical and pharmaceutical expenses, which in 1891 constituted 21.7 per cent, and which in 1904 was 27.4 per cent, of the total ordinary expenditures. Funeral expenses constitute a small proportion of the expenditures. They amounted to 3.2 per cent of the total in 1891, went down as low as 2.1 in 1900, and increased to 2.4 in 1904. The cost of administration was equivalent to 9.1 per cent of the total ordinary expenses in 1891 and 7.3 per cent in 1904.

The total ordinary expenditures have been constantly increasing since 1891. They amounted in that year to 726,961.67 francs ($140,303.60), trebled in 1900, and almost quadrupled in 1904. But despite this large increase the average ordinary expenditure per member has been decreasing since 1891. It was 13.3 francs ($2.57) in 1891 and 11.3 francs ($2.18) in 1904.

The average sick benefit per member assisted was, as seen from the following table, about $5. It was 27.49 francs ($5.31) in 1891,

25.53 francs ($4.93) in 1901, and 27.75 francs ($5.36) in 1904. The average benefit per day of sickness thus has been over a franc and a quarter (24 cents).

The average medical and pharmaceutical expenses per assisted member have been on the increase since 1891. They were 9.03 francs ($1.74) in 1891 and 12.10 francs ($2.34) in 1904.

PERSONS ASSISTED, SICK BENEFITS PAID, AND COST OF MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL AID GIVEN BY SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1904.

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The total ordinary and extraordinary expenditures per member have also decreased. They amounted to 14.6 francs ($2.82) per member in 1891, 13.8 francs ($2.66) in 1900, and 13.8 francs ($2.66) in 1908. It is also evident that the average of the ordinary as well as that of the total receipts per member has decreased. The first amounted to 13.4 francs ($2.58) per member in 1891, to 11.2 francs ($2.16) per member in 1900, and 11 francs ($2.13) in 1904, the last year for which the information is given.

Comparing the expenditures of the sick-benefit societies with their receipts, we can easily discover that the first have followed the second very closely, constantly, however, maintaining a quite wide margin between them. The net assets of these societies have steadily increased. They amounted to 2,127,771.20 francs ($410,659.84) in 1891 and to 9,585,547.56 francs ($1,850,010.58) in 1908.

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RECEIPTS OF SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1908.

[Source: 1891-1904, Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1908; 1905-1908, advance information furnished by the Office du Travail.]

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EXPENDITURES OF SICK-BENEFIT SOCIETIES, 1891 TO 1908.

[Source: 1891-1904, Annuaire statistique de la Belgique, 1908; 1905-1908, advance information furnished by the Office du Travail.]

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In spite of their large net assets, financial safety seems, according to some authorities on the subject, not to be a characteristic feature of the majority of the sick-benefit societies. In a report on "Sick insurance in Belgium," read at the Third International Congress of Actuaries, the director of the General Savings and Retirement Fund said in part: "In general, the mutual sick-benefit societies do not fulfill the necessary requirements of a safe and rational organization; their bases are entirely empirical; too many of them increase their loans without taking into consideration whether or not their assets are adequate. * *The Belgian actuaries have all along emphasized the necessity of observing the principle of the equal distribution of resources and charges, and also of having a complete system of accounting. They especially endeavor to demonstrate to the officials of these societies that friendly societies can be easily and scientifically managed."

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ESTABLISHMENT FUNDS.

Establishment funds are the only institutions, apart from mutual aid societies, which issue sick insurance in Belgium. They exist in many industrial and manufacturing concerns.

As has already been mentioned in connection with accident insurance, the mines in Belgium are required to maintain, apart from the district insurance funds, special funds in each establishment in order to provide medical aid to sick workers. These funds are managed by committees at each establishment and are entirely independent of each other. In Charleroi, for example, no deductions are made from wages for the support of the special funds, while in other localities the funds are maintained largely by wage deductions and fines. The benefits granted by these funds vary greatly. Some funds provide money relief and medical service to sick and injured members; others extend this relief to the family of the members. Some distribute bread and coal, provide benefits which run for long periods, and subsidize hospitals, lodging houses, schools, etc.

The expenditures of the special-aid funds located at each establishment are shown by mine districts in the following table for the six years 1894, 1895, and 1901 to 1904, the last years for which data are available, which may be regarded as fairly representative of the operations of the funds. The figures for all districts show that all the items of expenditure for the period in question show an increase. The greatest expenditure is for the money relief of sickness, which forms over 50 per cent of the total.

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