http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/22/business/economy/rationing-health-care-more-fairly.html?pagewanted=all
Rationing Health Care More Fairly
Published: August 21, 2012
"While it is reasonable for politicians to shy away from rationing — especially when voters believe no expense should be spared to save a human life — if the experience of other countries serves as precedent, we will probably get there sooner or later. In Britain, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence determines what therapies will be covered by the National Health Service. It generally recommends against paying for a therapy that costs more than $31,000 to $47,000 for each year of life gained, adjusted for quality.
Putting a value on life, as it were, is controversial. The National Institute in Britain has denied or limited coverage of expensive drugs for ailments like
pancreatic cancer,
macular degeneration and
Alzheimer’s. But in a world of limited budgets, such decisions must be made. Similar systems exist in many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, where the government decided not to pay for a universal vaccine against pneumococcal disease until its price fell to 25,000 New Zealand dollars per quality-adjusted life year."
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