Rationing health care: its impact and implications for hematology-oncology.

Rationing of health care in the United States currently exists via the covert mechanism of restricting significant segments of medical care for many of those who cannot afford it. Provision of universal health care would necessitate explicit rationing of certain interventions and technologies, even though an individual could afford them. The British and Canadian experiences provide lessons from which America can profit, and the Oregon health plan is an experiment in this direction. The progressive "graying" of America has raised the question of the need for intergenerational charity as a form of rationing. The implications of these rationing plans would result in a major restructuring of the practice of hematology-oncology.