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In a society that bases life and death decisions on cost, such as the QALY system in Great Britain, it's easy to see how it's possible to deny health care to people who have the potential for great accomplishments.

For example, Helen Keller, who was born blind, deaf and mute, through the patience and perseverance of her nurse and companion, ultimately became a world renowned figure for her accomplishments in helping the handicapped. However, my guess is that if she were born at a time when the health care industry was making cost-based decisions about who should live or die, she would not have been spared. She has been quoted as saying, "I dreamt of heaven the other night, and the pearly gates swung wide. An angel with halo bright, ushered me inside. And there to my astonishment, stood folks I'd judged and labeled as quite 'unfit,' of 'little worth,' and 'spiritually disabled.' Indignant words rose to my lips, but NEVER were set free, for EVERY face showed stunned surprise, not ONE expected Me!"

Another person who probably would not be with us today where the health care system restricts access on the basis of cost is one of world's greatest physicists, Stephen Hawking (1942-). Hawking has suffered for approximately 40 years with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The list of his accomplishments is too long to detail here, but he has authored a number of important contributions to the fields of cosmology and quantum gravity, including "black holes." Hawking developed ALS in his youth, while attending Cambridge, and has become increasingly paralyzed over the years, to the point that today he is almost completely immobile and can no longer speak. He has been quoted as saying, "It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly. People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining."

If the British QALY system for evaluating the worth of individuals had existed at the time Stephen Hawking first became paralyzed, would he have received the care and support that has kept him alive for the past 40 or 50 years, or would the cost of his care resulted in the conclusion that it was simply too expensive?

There is a long list of people who have made significant contributions to society and who might well have been denied health care on the basis of cost under the British QALY system or a similar policy that could potentially become the method for health care decision-making in America under the type of health care reform that the Obama administration has been pushing. Following are just some examples:

Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), actor: Was crippled as a result of a horse-riding injury and dedicated the remaining years of his life attempting to harness the power of medical research to enable people with spinal cord injuries to recover and walk again.

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