This article describes the development and evolution of the Oregon experiment with public political rationing in health care. As dissatisfaction with current health care rationing has mounted, the search has accelerated for alternatives to replace thede factorationing generated by the private health insurance marketplace. As the foremost example of public rationing, the closely‐watched Oregon Health Plan is widely offered as an alternative to traditional private health insurance. Other health care rationing alternatives include health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and proposals that encourage self‐rationing by individual consum