Age as a Criterion for Rationing Health Care

Abstract

Suggestions for reducing health care costs in the United States by\nexplicit rationing have included proposals to use age as a criterion for\nallocating resources in medical care. In this Sounding Board essay, Levinsky\ncritically examines arguments for withholding costly, life-prolonging\ntechnologies from elderly patients. He questions the reasoning behind such\nproposals and whether substantial savings can be realized unless routine\nmedical care is withheld from the elderly as well as high technology care. \nLevinsky argues strongly against using age as a rationing criterion as\ndetrimental to society. (KIE abstract)