Program Developments and Benefit Trends in Voluntary Health Insurance

In carrying out its statutory mandate to make studies concerning the advancement of economic security through social insurance, the Social Security Administration has followed closely the progress of voluntary health insurance. Important developments in this field have occurred during the 3 years that have passed since the Administration's Bureau of Research and Statistics published the results of an extensive and continuing study of voluntary prepayment medical care organizations.1 Public interest in using the insurance method of meeting the cost of illness has increased rapidly, new prepayment plans have been established, wider geographic areas have been covered, and a greater proportion of the population has been enrolled. Certain significant trends are of major importance to the future of prepaid medical care.