The University of New Hampshire Law Review
Abstract
[Excerpt] “The allocation of health care resources involves a societal determination of what resources should be devoted to a particular program. The allocation process is typically performed on a ―macro‖ level, with allocation decisions often affecting only statistical lives. In contrast to the identifiable lives often affected by health care rationing, statistical lives affected by allocation decisions are much more readily sacrificed. A common means of deciding health care allocation is through political processes. Government decisions pertaining to health care spending and regulation typically involve allocation determinations. For example, the Medicare and Medicaid programs allocate resources for numerous purposes. Hospitals, too, regularly make allocation decisions in determining the quantity and type of resources to have available. Their actions, in turn, impact directly upon physicians who subsequently also become health care allocators.”
Repository Citation
George P. Smith, II , The Elderly and Health Care Rationing, 7 Pierce L. Rev. 171 (2009), available at http://scholars.unh.edu/unh_lr/vol7/iss2/3