Rationing Medicine: Threats from European Cost-Effectiveness Models to America's Seniors and other Vulnerable Populations

Despite its adoption in the U.K., Canada, and Australian, the use of Quality-Adjusted Life Year metric has generated controversy elsewhere. The U.S. and Germany have both rejected the standard's use, and one major health outcomes study of the 27 European health systems concluded that "QALY assessment for health decision making should be abandoned." "Rationing Medicine" examines why the QALY cost-effectiveness methodology poses a threat to older American, including potentially denying seniors access to life-saving treatments, and makes the case that Congress should move swiftly to outlaw its use.