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1 month ago in Health Policy By Natasha

Should we admit that healthcare rationing is unavoidable?

No one wants to say it, but with finite resources, some patients will get care and some won't. Should we just admit that rationing exists and debate how to do it fairly?

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By Suma Answered 2 months ago

Yes because denial doesn't make it go away. Every system with a fixed budget rations, whether by waiting lists, exclusion criteria, or ability to pay. The ethical question is how. Rationing should be explicit, transparent, and based on fair criteria clinical need, cost-effectiveness, and equity not hidden behind postcode lotteries or physician discretion. The goal isn't to deny care. It's to ensure that limited resources do the most good for the most people, fairly.

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