This is not a philosophical question.
In an article "Pinning down the money value of a person's life" in the New York Times, health economists try to answer the question of the price of health in determing whether a new treatment or medicine is worth the cost.
Studies of real world situations suggest that average Americans value a year of life at $100,000 - $300,000, according to Tufts - New England medical Centre that measures the cost-effectiveness of new treatments.
Healthcare economists have created the idea of "quality-adjusted life year" (QALY) - that a year in perfect health is worth more than a year spent in pain, depression or a wheelchair, with rough estimates and use them as guides to the diseases and conditions that people will spend the most to avoid, then rank the "costs" of various diseases to determine the worthiness of a particular treatment.
However, economists argue that the inefficiencies that contribute to the high cost of American healthcare will mean that the US will have to follow other countries such as Britain when considering the coverage of new treatments.
How much is a person's life worth in Britain?
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