BC,
The problem with this line of reasoning is that it assumes that if you focus on healthy living and preventative medicine disease will be reduced and will expenses fall.
IMHO, the entire premise of that is false.
This is the kind of argument that delusional liberals made about the cost of cigarette smoking.
The fact of the matter is that people eventually get old, sick, and then die anyway.
If they smoke, don't exercise, eat poorly etc... they may get sick sooner, get a different set of diseases, and die younger than someone that lives a healthy preventative lifestyle, but in the end those others also get old, sick, senile, alzheimer's disease, wind up in rehab centers, nursing homes, require 24 hour care etc....
And of course, the longer you live without working the more you accumulate pension, social security, medicare and other benefits that cost a fortune.
Now, obviously I'm not arguing for everyone to live poorly so they die younger and save us money, but the fact of that matter is that I'd be willing to bet that my 101 grandmother from Sicily that lived like a saint cost a lot more than my cousin that drank, smoked and drugged himself to death fairly young. |
