Global
How do we tell when a society is successful? A healthy life expectancy
By David Crane February 3, 2020
While healthy life expectancy is improving, the length of time spent in failing health is not, which means 'years of costly care and treatment of illness and disability.'
Narrowing that gap while working to improve healthy life expectancy and reducing the time spent in diminished and frail health in the final years of life should be key goals of policy. The mandate letters for Health Minister Patty Hajdu and Seniors Minister Deb Schulte don't really address these issues, writes David Crane. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade
TORONTO—How do we tell when a society is successful? Economists like rising per capita output as the marker for a successful society. But a much better marker is the level of healthy life expectancy because it reflects a much broader range of things that make life worth living.
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