Volume 32, Number 7 · April 25, 1985
When Doctors Disagree
By John P. Bunker
The American public has been warned that medical care may soon have to be rationed. In an article in Newsweek (November 12, 1984), Dr. William Schwartz writes that 'either we will accept the continued rise of hospital costs that result from full exploitation of technological advances, or we will start to ration hospital care. And if it's the latter, we will then have to say to some people, 'Yes, a new liver would be good for you, but as a society we can't afford it.' ' The economist Henry Aaron, in collaboration with Dr. Schwartz, has elaborated on this theme in a recent, widely publicized book, The Painful Prescription: Rationing Hospital Care,[1] as well as in articles in The New York Times and elsewhere.
Feature, 4977 words
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