There is no evidence that justifies depriving patients who have a low risk of heart disease of the painkilling benefits of Vioxx.

And even if they are right, their decision deprives patients of the ability to appeal a claim denial to the insurer.

Moreover, it said, if such lawsuits succeed, some good products may be removed from the market, depriving patients of beneficial treatments.

But they also deprive patients who rationally choose suicide of the knowledge they need to avoid unimaginable suffering.

Advocates for Medicaid recipients and the drug industry both expressed concern about the Florida program, saying the formulary could deprive patients of some drugs they need.

"These proposed changes in the law would deprive seriously injured patients of fair compensation," they wrote.

"Quality" and "efficiency" become pretexts for depriving patients of needed care and of an active role in deciding on their treatment.

In other words, if Starzl was right about FK-506, the committee believed, then it was wrong to deprive patients of the drug.

If we ration technology by freezing its development, we will deprive patients of their hope for a better life - even for life itself.

It would establish a highly bureaucratic health care system that would deprive patients of their ability to choose doctors and hospitals.