Health care for the elderly: a social obligation.

Topic: Ageism in the allocation of health care.

Purpose: To explore the ethical bases for rationing health care according to age, and to make appropriate recommendations for nursing policy and practice.

Sources: Published literature.

Conclusions: Limiting access to resources and opportunities for older Americans simply because they are old is clearly a case of ageism. The authors opine that society has an obligation to provide an adequate level of health care to all, rationing on the basis of age is wrong, and nursing policy and practice should support this stance.