HEALTH CARE RATIONING AND COST CONTAINMENT ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS

摘要: Much public discussion about health care assumes, explicitly or implicitly, that only by denial of potentially beneficial (called “rationing”) can cost containment be achieved. This piece critically examines the various current usages “rationing,” and argues it is being misapplied. Fur- ther, call for rationing may deflecting us from fruitful exploration non-rationing alternatives to control. Two these are briefly sketched as examples: physician fee controls practice guidelines.