ABSTRACT
International interest in health care priority-setting or rationing has been growing, yet the kind of approaches adopted and the values underlying them differ substantially. Health care rationing is one example of how political choices vary between countries. This chapter looks at approaches to priority-setting in several countries, and explores the different ethical assumptions underlying these approaches. In most political systems, an equitable distribution of resources is a stated policy goal. How, then, do they arrive at such different positions?
