in of the value of health care practices and is faced with decisions under duress. American society is usually unwilling to go without, they tend to want more care than they can afford. Political forces defend self-interests, creating obstacles to the elimination of unnecessary care (Wachter, 1995).
Critics of rationing state that other possibilities need to be explored such as the following: "a procedure-neutral reimbursement system, better technology assessment and outcomes research, practice guidelines, better preventive care with an emphasis on healthy life-styles, a cap on malpractice awards, and reduction of the costs of administering the health care system" (p. 26). These ideas are likely to yield one-time savings only and are viewed inadequate to cover costs of new technology and the aging population (Wachter, 1995).
Disagreement over the meaning of rationing adds to the confusion. For example, those arguing against rationing may be the ones who do not recommend magnetic resonance imaging sc
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