Science / Medicine : Rationing Health Care?

As the number of Americans over 65 doubles over the next 50 years, so will the nation’s health-care bill. Many health experts say the country simply cannot afford the cost to grow that much. One solution, which has been tried in a number of countries, is to ration health care on the basis of age. Savings are possible, for example, if older citizens were denied reimbursement for certain high-risk, high-cost treatments, such as renal dialysis or organ transplants.

This runs counter to the way the United States has conducted its medical business. Since 1965, the federal government has picked up the bulk of the medical expenses for the poor and elderly.

In a report last week, the American Medical Assn.’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs strongly opposed rationing, labeling such an approach “dangerous.” In essence, the committee said, rationing means that governments judge the “social worth” of individuals. : Those who are young and of working and parenting age are judged to be worth supporting; those who are old are viewed as expendable and are denied help. Such judgments, the council cautioned, is not unlike the attitude Nazi Germany took toward Jews during the Holocaust. It is “a horrible affront to civilization.”