Spending to death: How much is living worth?

Here is the link to the article.

Talks about the vast amount of money that is being spent by people, insurance companies, and the government for just a little extra life at the end of people's lives. A lot of different drugs and therapies (most of them relatively new) are discussed. Really makes you think how much money could be spent elsewhere if aging (and the related diseases) were cured.

It is an extreme but clear example of the state our health system is in. Due to limited knowledge and plain preconception, "we" are mainly able to cure symptoms in stead of causes. Pharmaceutical companies do have very huge commercial interest, besides hopefully some ethical sense as well. They do have to solve a quite big dilemma: The curing of symptoms is quite quick and easy compared to curing causes. So, in order to receive quick returns on investment, a lot of research is spent on medications that are able to be economical successful on short notice. Most of our current medical staff is poorly educated and has a believe that the current approach is the only one available. According to them, health is "a personal state of not being severely ill", instead of "creating optimal potential for personal development".

Within this limited model, curing symptoms is perceived as optimal health care. Unfortunately.

I currently 'spend' roughly 30% of my income so that I may retire when I am too weak to work. This 30% includes not wanting to work AND wanting an improved future lifestyle.
I would posit that it's worth a bit less than 30% of my income to continue living.

This all ties in quite nicely with Parkinson's law that people tend to grow their spending to match (or exceed) their income. QJones' approach is admirable and indicative of a much greater level of foresight than can be attributed to the population at large.
My recipe for retirement is saving 10% of my income plus 50% of any increase in income. I learn to live off the other half of the increase.

If it meant I could cure my own aging, I would be willing to spend an awful lot more than these "patchwork" cures that only give you another 6 months or something at a really high cost. If I knew I was going to die anyway, better to use the money on cryonics.

Robin Hanson discusses our irrational view of medicine here:

Fear of Death and Muddled Thinking – It Is So Much Worse Than You Think
http://hanson.gmu.edu/feardie.pdf

Probably most of the resources we spend on healthcare goes to waste, but we do it any way as a means of symbolic social bonding.

Ramez Naam also has a graph in his book, More Than Human, which shows the correlation between longevity and per capita healthcare spending in many countries. I don't have it in front of me, but I recall you get at least 90% of the longevity benefits of modern healthcare from the first $1,000 per capita, with rapidly diminishing returns after that.

Indeed. Honestly, it's the whole pathology approach. I'd rather it continue, squeeze the last drop of juice out of life, not to mention that it funds research for drug companies, but still, getting there beforehand would be better. Perhaps it wouldn't demand as much money though, and that's why people aren't going for it. Oy, rather makes us the saints who try to prevent that term of suffering.