Much of the debate in health care now dances around the issue of rationing. While this is a valid concern when it comes to a centralized system designed to control bottom line pricing, it is the acme of foolishness to state or even imply that rationing does not exist in the current American system. Of course rationing exists, its just that when it happens without direct mandate its referred to as “the market.”
Whenever scarcity of an item and demand for that item coexist a market is created for that item. Few things in the world do not have scarcity of some degree. The items that don’t have scarcity (or functionly no scarcity) have no market in normal time. Air is plentiful, so no one pays for it. Pure Oxygen is scarcer (it must be harvested) so people actually pay for it. Medical care items (be they objects or services) are scarce (arguably more scarce then need be) and thus a market exists for these items.
A market is rationing. This must be agreed upon before a conversation on why the market form of rationing is superior to centralized rationing.