2124                            JOINT RESOLUTIONS

The members of the General Assembly of Maryland, in common
with thousands of serious citizens of this State, are deeply disturbed
over the continuous upward spiral of patient fees and costs in private
hospitals of the State.

It is no exaggeration to say that the steady upward trend in hos-
pital fees and costs is one of the primary social problems of our
generation.

The present generation is outstanding for its remarkable success
in diagnosing and treating baffling diseases which for centuries have
been beyond the reach of medical science. It is ironic that at the
time new and startling medicines and techniques are available to
mankind, he is being literally priced out of the market by excessive
costs.

This situation is becoming acute and well-nigh intolerable for most
of our people. We feel that the primary responsibility for the situa-
tion, and the primary opportunity for its correction, lies with the
hospitals themselves. No other agency or person is as close to the
situation as the hospitals. They could, if they would, stop the con-
stantly increasing schedule of fees and costs.

The State of Maryland has a definite place in this problem. In the
State budget annually many thousands of dollars are contributed to
the private hospitals to help defray their spending costs. For the
benefit of all citizens in the State, therefore, the State Government
should take an active part in a study designated to halt and reverse
the continuing increase in the costs of hospital treatment now, there-
fore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Governor
of Maryland be requested to appoint a special commission to investi-
gate on the part of the State the high and increasingly onerous costs
of hospital service and treatment in this State; and be it further

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to place on this commis-
sion representative persons throughout the State, including some
who are closely familiar with the administrative problems of hos-
pitals, and also including representatives of the General Assembly;
and be it further

Resolved, That this commission, when appointed, be requested to
meet and organize promptly, and to study the causes of the high cost
of treatment in hospitals receiving State appropriations; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Commission be requested to report to the Gen-
eral Assembly of 1964 its findings and recommendations for halting
and reversing the increasing high level of costs for treatment in
private hospitals in this State.

Approved March 14, 1963.