ABSTRACT
Health care rationing is the controlled allocation of health care resources. Many people are uncomfortable with, or downright hostile to, the idea of rationing health care. Leaving rationing decisions for the bedside is a bad idea also because it actually increases scarcity. Most people not only do not know the value of different interventions and services, they often do not even know which ones they need. Health care workers do not merely provide services to people. There was the question whether the use of cost-effectiveness analysis unfairly discriminates against people with disabilities. In affluent countries, health care spending has grown faster than GDP for several decades, and the difference is expected to increase in the future. Low- and middle-income countries face even more daunting challenges. As they are developing, they have to broaden access to health care while ensuring that their health care systems remain affordable.
