Rationing Health Care

Rationing health care is being discussed as inevitably related to new legislation that will raise the costs of health care. Sure, it will, but the important aspect of the debate is not that rationing will occur, it already is a reality. Rationing is inevitable; the issue is how rationing occurs and who "suffers" the consequences of the system. 

David Leonhardt has pointed out this reality.  I advocate a system where everyone is included in the basic system. There is a common good aspect of care that is critically important. Our brothers and sisters deserve access to care on a reasonable basis. However, I appreciate that at some point, there is a need to limit care in some form or other. Admittedly, this gets into difficult territory, but I do see ways to minimize the pain. Many medications are produced with no evidence that they generate better results than cheaper and older drugs. Same with medical devices. Technology  can invent various iterations of the same type of drug or device that will raise new revenues for stock holders but result in no better health for the consumers. 

Even with these changes, I do not see how we can have universal health care without additional taxes, something that seems appropriate. We need to share the pain involved in a plan that we give us all a chance to share in the this nation's health system.