The cost of a long life

[trumad]

Money Alone Does Not Extend Lives

Despite the wide gaps, higher spending on health care does not necessarily prolong lives. In 2000, theUnited States spent more on health care than any other country in the world: an average of $ 4,500 per person. Switzerland was second highest, at $3,300 or 71% of the US. Nevertheless, average US life expectancy ranks 27th in the world, at 77 years. Many countries achieve higher life expectancy rates with significantly lower spending. The chart below shows the top 30 countries in the world ranked by life expectancy. The red line indicates per-capita health expenditure (right axis), and shows that many countries outperform the US with approximately half the spending.

The chart (right) also highlights the sharp contrast between the US and Cuba. With a life expectancy of 76.9 years, Cuba ranks 28th in the world, just behind the US. However, its spending per person on health care is one of the lowest in the world, at $186, or about 1/25 the spending of the United States. There are other cases where high life expectancies are achieved with low spending on health care. The scattergraph (below) shows the relation between per-capita health care expenditure and average life expectancy for 2000. Countries with higher spending generally have longer life expectancy rates, but there are also many countries that perform nearly as well with much lower spending.
http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.php

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[MannyGoldstein]

2. More reasons why we need to reform health care and health insurance

Beyond paying far more for care that's average at best, our system is wildly inequitable. ACA will help the inequity somewhat mostly by using taxpayer dollars to subsidize lower-income folks, but we really need thorough reform.

[Igel]

3. Bad title.

Should be more like, "Money alone doesn't guarantee long life."

No way of knowing the extent to which the increased spending lengthens lives, or the extent to which it matters.

The bit not quoted sheds a bit of light on this. Not enough. I can spend $2000 on childhood preventive medicine for a poor kid and produce an increase of 5 years or spend $500k on a battery of expensive tests and treatment for a 90-year-old dementia patient with congestive heart failure and increase the life span by 3 months. Money increases life span either way--but one's efficient and one isn't, all things being equal.

But things are seldom equal. Even as calorie intake and standard of living rises for a lot of Native American communities life expectancy--which soared--now declines. The early increases were through elimination of childhood illnesses (and adult illnesses). The decreases now are through diabetes and obesity at rates higher than in other ethnic communities.

[FarCenter]

4. Most health care spending is not relevant to living longer

Most health care spending is on:

- pregnancy, birth and early infancy, especially on premature births or on babies with birth defects.

- chronic health conditions caused by degenerative diseases, genetic diseases, or accidents, including war wounds and mental illnesses. These continue indefinitely and usually do not improve until death.

- the last year of life, whenever that occurs.

Very little is spent on curable illnesses or recoverable accidents, e.g. pneumonia or a broken bone.