Unhealthy people are subsidized at the expense of the healthy. Imposing limitations for self-destructive personal choices will prevent people from putting too much strain on the healthcare system and free up resources for people who need them more urgently. This means actively using policy to raise the cost for smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyles.
We need to be cautious when allocating resources like current medical technology and procedures for terminal patients. People are living too long and healthcare costs are too high to handle all the catastrophic costs that terminal patients can run up. Instead of using resources on people who won’t live we can value human life most by respecting when it cannot reasonably be extended. Since most medical expenditures are incurred during the last six years of a person’s life this will free up significant amounts of capital, equipment, and time for people like transplant patients who need organs and will recover. We just cannot afford unlimited care for everyone in all circumstances.
