Abstract
‘Ration’ is a six-letter four-letter word. Those who use the term typically do so to condemn, to shock, or to scandalize. Liberals and conservatives alike condemn President Clinton’s Health Care Reform1 simply by asserting that it “rations” heath care.2 Nothing more need be said—either in the US or in Europe —although American insularity tends to prevent Americans from noticing that Western Europeans, too, are repelled by the idea of rationing. Yet, even as popular culture on both sides of the Atlantic adamantly rejects any form of “rationing,” experts are arguing that health care systems must officially recognize and formally embrace rationing if they are to be efficient and fair. This chapter introduces readers to the rationing debates taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. It attempts to sort out various conceptions and models of rationing, and to differentiate among rhetorical posturing, substantive argument, and principled differences in the rationing debate.
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Notes and References
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Baker, R. (1995). Rationing, Rhetoric, and Rationality. In: Humber, J.M., Almeder, R.F. (eds) Allocating Health Care Resources. Biomedical Ethics Reviews. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-447-4_3
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