Healthcare cost

When social security started in 1935, life expectancy was 62 years but today that is 78 years. This trend is expected to continue and that along with advances in medical treatment will increase the cost of healthcare. The new treatments are expensive. In 1960 healthcare cost were 5% of GDP and today it is 20%. One fourth of all health cost in a person’s life happens in the last year so one place to look for savings is in elderly patients. This leads to rationing, something that no one wants to hear but may be necessary. Should a ninety-year-old man get a liver transplant. New York recently joined other states in allowing assisted suicide and other countries like Canada and many in Europe have adopted similar rules. On the other end of the spectrum, many abortions are performed on unborns who have various problems that would be costly to treat. Another savings is in the treatment of preemies. Infants born at 24 weeks have an average first year cost of over $600,000. The average stay in a nursing home is 6 months and for dementia patients it’s 30 months and the cost are $10,000 per month. Insurance and private payments cover some of the cost but the government spends $200 billion per year. Encouraging life style changes can save money. The total cost of smoking is $600 billion while drug and alcohol comes to $500 billion.