Dying costs money, and in some cases, a lot of it. Adding financial concerns to the already emotionally draining experience of terminal illness can cause depression in caregivers and suicidal thoughts in the patients. It's enormously expensive (to be terminally ill). On average, it costs Americans more than $30,000 above any insurance coverage to pay for the care required in their last year of life.
Annals of Internal Medicine March 2000;132:451-459
A sad comment on our culture indeed. Sad, because it does not have to be that way. Most of us can enjoy long, healthy, productive lives well into out 90s and 100s if we merely follow simple health guidelines.
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