Ordeals are burdens placed on individuals that yield no benefits to others; hence they represent a dead-weight loss. Ordeals – the most common is waiting time – play a prominent role in rationing health care. The recipients most willing to bear them are those receiving the greatest benefit from scarce health-care resources. Health care is heavily subsidized; hence, moral hazard leads to excess use. Ordeals are intended to discourage expenditures yielding little benefit while simultaneously avoiding the undesired consequences of rationing methods such as quotas or pricing. This analysis diagnoses the economic underpinnings of ordeals. Subsidies for nursing-home care versus home care illustrate.

中文翻译：

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战略分类：考验在医疗保健中的作用

磨难是加在个人身上的负担，对他人没有好处；因此它们代表无谓损失。磨难——最常见的是等待时间——在配给医疗保健方面发挥着重要作用。最愿意承担它们的接受者是那些从稀缺的医疗资源中获得最大利益的人。医疗保健得到大量补贴；因此，道德风险导致过度使用。严酷考验旨在阻止收效甚微的支出，同时避免配额或定价等配给方法的不良后果。该分析诊断了磨难的经济基础。养老院护理与家庭护理的补贴说明了这一点。