It appears some people want us to believe that health-care reform would mean medical care would be rationed. As far as I can tell, and I've researched this, that's just not true. There's nothing in any of the proposals in Congress that would stand between a patient and a doctor and nothing to prevent the doctor from prescribing the best possible treatment.

If I think about it, I'd have to say that the health care we have now is becoming more like rationed care every year. When one out of three Americans says someone in his or her family had to skip pills or postpone medical care because it was too expensive, that's rationed care. When you are denied health insurance because you have a pre-existing condition, that's rationed care. When people have to declare bankruptcy or lose a home because of medical bills, that's rationed care.

If we keep the health care we have, we're going to see more and more rationed care. Health-care reform would make sure that people can afford insurance, would have a choice of insurance plans and doctors, and couldn't be dropped because they happened to get sick. To me, that just sounds like good health care.
Aliaa Fahmy
AARP Volunteer
North Brunswick