Rationing Healthcare
Rationing Healthcare: America 's Best Bet
John Curry
Keller Graduate School
Health Rights/Responsibilities
HSM 542
Prof. Michelle Gomillion
February 24, 2013
Abstract
Rationing Healthcare: America 's Best Bet
Introduction.
Within the last decade private insurance premiums have doubled, rising four times faster than wages. Insolvency of the current government assisted healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are on track to occur within the next eight years (Singer, 2009, para. 3). Facts such as these lead most experts and scholars such as Peter Singer, bioethics professor at Princeton University, to believe rationing of healthcare is not only necessary but highly desired for all stakeholders involved. The fact of the matter is that healthcare is a scarce resource, and like all scarce resources, it requires close management and rationing to ensure its best use.
At present, healthcare in a sense, is rationed through price. In the realm of public opinion however, rationing healthcare is often times connected to the highly politicized word, ‘socialism’ and is highly undesired. In its truest form however, rationing simply put, is a way of distributing limited resources to garner the best overall “bang for the buck.” In healthcare, rationing is a manner of which providing the best quality of care to the largest number of patients. Investopedia defines rationing as:
The artificial restriction of raw materials, goods or services. Rationing commonly occurs when governments fear a shortage and want to make sure people have access to necessities, such as after a natural disaster or during a war. Governments can also impose rationing in the face of failed policies such as central planning, or may be forced to use rationing as a result of shortages ("Definition of ’Rationing’," 2013, p. 1).
This paper’s purpose is to examine the rationale behind the rationing of healthcare. It will examine the affect it has on healthcare delivery, impact on healthcare
John Curry
Keller Graduate School
Health Rights/Responsibilities
HSM 542
Prof. Michelle Gomillion
February 24, 2013
Abstract
Rationing Healthcare: America 's Best Bet
Introduction.
Within the last decade private insurance premiums have doubled, rising four times faster than wages. Insolvency of the current government assisted healthcare programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are on track to occur within the next eight years (Singer, 2009, para. 3). Facts such as these lead most experts and scholars such as Peter Singer, bioethics professor at Princeton University, to believe rationing of healthcare is not only necessary but highly desired for all stakeholders involved. The fact of the matter is that healthcare is a scarce resource, and like all scarce resources, it requires close management and rationing to ensure its best use.
At present, healthcare in a sense, is rationed through price. In the realm of public opinion however, rationing healthcare is often times connected to the highly politicized word, ‘socialism’ and is highly undesired. In its truest form however, rationing simply put, is a way of distributing limited resources to garner the best overall “bang for the buck.” In healthcare, rationing is a manner of which providing the best quality of care to the largest number of patients. Investopedia defines rationing as:
The artificial restriction of raw materials, goods or services. Rationing commonly occurs when governments fear a shortage and want to make sure people have access to necessities, such as after a natural disaster or during a war. Governments can also impose rationing in the face of failed policies such as central planning, or may be forced to use rationing as a result of shortages ("Definition of ’Rationing’," 2013, p. 1).
This paper’s purpose is to examine the rationale behind the rationing of healthcare. It will examine the affect it has on healthcare delivery, impact on healthcare
References: Andre, C., & Velasquez, M. (2010). Aged-Based Health Care Rationing. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n3/age.html Center for American Progress Definition of ’Rationing’. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rationing.asp#axzz2Lp5M2H7u Kane, J NHS Choices. (2011). Health watchdogs and authorities . Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/healthregulators/Pages/nice.aspx Pipes, S Rottenberg, S., & Theroux, D. J. (1994). Rationing Health Care: Price Controls Are Hazardous to Our Health . Retrieved from http://www.independent.org/publications/article.asp?id=1201 Singer, P The National Coalition on Health Care. (2011). Health Care Spending as Percentage of GDP Reaches All-Time High. Retrieved from http://nchc.org/node/1171 Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership Young, J. (2013). Number of Uninsured in U.S. Rises as Workers Lose Jobs and Health Insurance. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/number-of-uninsured-in-us_n_1276189.html