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Kitzhaber's open discussion of rationing brings up questions about what individuals are willing to sacrifice to make sure the health care system as a whole is viable. Last year, this point propelled cancer patient Barbara Wagner into the headlines. She received a letter from the Oregon Health Plan denying her cancer treatment because it had less than a 5 percent chance of success. The same letter offered payment for the state's physician-assisted suicide program. The drugmaker eventually gave Wagner the medication for free, but she died a few months later. Despite difficult situations like Wagner's, Kitzhaber says Oregon is a good place to have this public conversation. "I do think Oregon has a history of innovation in medical care," he says. "And we've had discussions on how you prioritize — and limits and rationing — that most states haven't had."Kitzhaber predicts that within a few years, most people will realize the fix being crafted in Washington right now won't work. And policymakers will then look to states like Oregon as models to craft a national policy that will work.