§ 85. Sir WILLIAM BULLasked by what right certain of the approved societies, acting as distributors of public funds under the National Insurance Act, withhold payment of insurance benefit on the ground that the medical certificates have been signed by the patient's own private medical adviser as distinguished from a panel doctor, seeing that the Insurance Commissioners have already pointed out that there is nothing either in the Act or in the Regulations under the Act to justify such a proceeding; whether the Government look upon the doctors who are not on the panel as hostile and will not accept their certificates; and whether the Government auditors would look to the secretary of an approved society to refund money paid on certificates of non-panel doctors as having been money unlawfully paid away?
Mr. ROBERTSONI would refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 15th January and 6th February, and to the full statement made by him in Debate on 12th February. The acceptance or refusal of a certificate of any particular medical practitioner for the purpose of administering sickness 794 benefit is in the first instance for the approved society to decide, subject to a right of the insured person to appeal to the Insurance Commissioners under Section 67 of the Act. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.