Britain Rations Health Care
Hip replacements, cataract surgery and tonsil removal are among operations now being rationed in a bid to save the National Health Service money:
- Hip and knee replacements only being allowed where patients are in severe pain. Overweight patients will be made to lose weight before being considered for an operation.
- Cataract operations being withheld from patients until their sight problems “substantially” affect their ability to work.
- Patients with varicose veins only being operated on if they are suffering “chronic continuous pain”, ulceration or bleeding.
- Tonsillectomy (removing tonsils) only to be carried out in children if they have had seven bouts of tonsillitis in the previous year.
- Grommets to improve hearing in children only being inserted in “exceptional circumstances” and after monitoring for six months.
Full article in The Independent worth reading.
There are just the policies we have heard of. There are undoubtedly numerous unofficial rationing policies that are followed by regional health authorities and doctors without being acknowledged.
All scarce resources must be rationed in one way or another to avoid over-utilization. If people cede control to a government bureaucracy, that bureaucracy will makes arbitrary rationing decision like the ones above.
No surprise on this end.
Good for them. As long as you can privately contract with a physician to purchase such services, there is no reason the NHS should pay for nonurgent care.
Seven bouts of tonsillitis in a year? Ouch!
How do American insurers make their decisions? Surely by similar methodologies. Does it matter which governing body is doing it?
The best solution is for consumers to have control over their own health spending and let them decide if seven bouts of tonsillitis is too many.