We really can't promise both more transplants and better outcomes. The controversies over organ allocation really represent intellectual exhaustion in the face of a long series of inadequate policy responses to the decade-long trend of the kidney supply increasing only at the expense of organ quality and patient outcomes.

Public health and climate stabilization historically have competed for public funds, but investment in either good has the potential to advance both goods.

Implementation of child abuse reporting laws may help policymakers assess the potential risks and benefits of mandatory reporting of human trafficking.

What’s the evidence base for future standards of care for trafficked patients?

Reasons for the shortage of primary care physicians in regions designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas and steps that medical schools and state and federal policymakers can take to alleviate the shortage.

Standards for posttransplant graft/survival rates do not reward transplant centers for performing riskier transplants to increase population benefit.

A controversial Oregon plan used quality-of-life assessments to provide fewer health care services to a larger pool of Medicaid patients.

The conventional quality-adjusted life years approach to resource allocation has greater societal value if it is distributed among many rather than concentrated on a few, assuming that severity of illness is the same.

A medical ethicist outlines the merits and limitations of using quality-adjusted life years measurements in health care decision making.

In “Allocating Scare Resources in a Pandemic,” Martin Strosberg calls attention to the need for preparedness planning including methods for rationing vaccines, antiviral medications, and intensive care unit beds and staff.