It's the Medical Thing Again

I think back to when I was a kid, a long time ago and a different country…..the only time anyone went to a doctor was when they were ill.

Nobody ate right, virtually everybody smoked and nobody knew what jogging or exercise was and life expectancy was about 70 years old.

Today we know what to eat, most people don’t smoke and we all know about exercise and our life expectancy has increased by about 8 years.

There is a cost for those 96 months of extra life.

In 1970, the oldest data my short search could find, per capita health care costs in the US were about $350 per year, and those are adjusted dollars. Today per capita health care costs are about $8,500 per person per year, or about 25 times higher. Those above age 65 pay about $15,000 per person per year.

So what’s the cost of those extra 96 months of life?

Using today’s numbers, no inflation adjustment:

• From 0 years to 65 Years $520,000.00
• From 65 years to the end, 78 years $195,000.00
• Total lifetime healthcare costs today $715,000.00
• Total lifetime healthcare costs 1970 $24,500.00

So the cost of those extra 96 months of life is $690,000.00 or about $7,000.00 per month. The numbers are real, the logic maybe faulty, but the point is clear.

We all now go to the doctor 1 or 2 times a year, does anyone walk out without some kind of prescription? Whether it is for drugs, for tests, for whatever?

Does anyone really question their doctor when he or she says you need to be on some pharmaceutical? Why? How much is it? What happens if I don’t take it? What are the side effects?

If you were going to buy $1,000.00 TV you’d do research ask a lot of questions and understand what you’re getting into – Why not with healthcare, it’s costing you $8,500.00/year!