U.S. Bars Anti-jewish Bias by Insurance Firms in Medicare Field

The United States Social Security Administration has taken steps to ensure that insurance companies selected by the agency to distribute Medicare funds comply with regulations barring religious discrimination against Jews and Catholics, in addition to steps already in effect against racial bias.

In an intensive effort to open up executive positions in insurance companies to Jews and Roman Catholics, as well as to Negroes and other racial minorities, particularly the top echelon jobs, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare has set up a special staff in the Social Security Administration to seek compliance with restrictions against religious bias by the companies chosen to administer the program.

The move grew out of a meeting on the issue last fall between a delegation of the American Jewish Committee and Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz. At that time, the AJC complained that studies showed that less than 1 percent of the top management jobs in the insurance industry were held by Jews, in spite of the fact that they accounted for 8 percent of all college graduates. Mr. Wirtz expressed concern over the situation, and indicated that more would be done to eliminate religious bias in this and other areas.