[Implicit versus explicit rationing of health services].

The common usage of the term "rationing" in health care as "withholding necessary services" is criticized and the relation between the concepts "rationing" and "prioritization" clarified. Furthermore, we distinguish among different types or rationing, in particular "hard" versus "soft" and "implicit" versus "explicit," and discuss their pros and cons. We then apply these concepts to the current situation in Germany, and discuss the contents and procedures of a possible explicit rationing within Social Health Insurance. In doing so, we attempt to make a contribution that may help to start the urgently needed open debate on scarcity and allocation of health care services in Germany.