[ExI] H+ Healthcare

[Fred C. Moulton]

I think Natasha brings up some good questions.

On Mon, 2009-06-22 at 17:58 -0400, natasha at natasha.cc wrote:
...
> 
> I bring this up because if we have a universal healthcare, how will  
> elderly people be handled? Will they be considered too old to repair?

A few days ago I was watching a Congressional hearing about the current
health bill and there was brief discussion (basically a lot of unknowns)
about quality-adjusted life year (QALY) which is a metric in some
systems of dispensing or withholding care.  So it is likely that
something will get put in to whatever the final bill turns out to be.

...
> 
> As transhumanists, we desire to long, vital lives.  How will a new  
> healthcare system?s across-the-board set of rules affect us?  Would  
> our coverage expire at nature?s suggested human lifespan of 123-max?   
> Would those who do live longer than a considered the norm have to fend  
> for themselves, outside of the system?

Another question is if FDA will approve some possible longevity
treatments.  I am not saying this is likely but if we look back at the
political mess surrounding stem cells we see what can happen.

It is difficult to do much of an analysis until something comes up for a
vote in Congress and even then if analysis will be difficult since often
a lot of the details are assigned to the implementing regulations.

Fred