important issues in medicine. This year, we have chosen to explore the concept of rationing in our current and future health care system because we realize that the distribution of limited health care resources to the nearly 300 million people in the United States must necessarily rely upon some sort of rationing.

But what are the different models of rationing? How well does each harmonize with American ethics, ideals, and values? What are the political and economic implications of alternate health care models? In the end, which model, if any, can bring amelioration to the crisis that now faces American health care?