That’s the somewhat shocking title of a recent article in Time Magazine. The article is about insurance companies determining whether or not to pay for medical treatments for folks based on a cost-benefit analysis that caps human life at about $129,000.
Assigning a dollar figure to Medicare patients’ lives may sound crass, but such valuations are routine in Americans’ daily lives. Take, for example, the $500,000 death benefit the government pays families when a soldier is killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Or the cost calculations that for-profit health insurers make to determine how much coverage they’ll give customers. In fact, at least some Americans seem at ease with allowing money to play a prominent role in health care decisions. In a 2007 survey of New Yorkers, 75% of participants felt “somewhat” to “very” comfortable with allowing cost to inform Medicare treatment decisions, once they understood how the system worked. “Americans understand and are prepared to engage the issues that arise when setting priorities and limits for their public programs,” Marthe Gold, the City University of New York Medical School professor who conducted the study, wrote with colleagues this past fall in the journal Health Affairs.
What is interesting to me is that all this talk appears to come from a position that this current earthly existence is all we have. Certainly, I don’t expect Time Magazine to speak of things eternal. I can imagine some reading this Time article and being outraged. “No expense should be spared” they might say. But really, to be thinking in terms of dollars and cents for a finite life seems almost silly in light of eternity. I think of Jesus’ words in Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
The real issue is not how much is a physical human life worth but how much is a soul worth? How can we count that cost?
Jesus Christ counted the cost. He entered into this world and gave his own life to redeem those who couldn’t make the payment. He looked at you and said “It is worth my giving of my life to bring you in.” The benefit of the price He paid isn’t just one year of life. No, it’s eternal life. The benefit of the price He paid isn’t just a better functioning body part (at least temporarily). No, it’s a new, flourishing resurrection body. The benefit of the price He paid isn’t just individual. No, it’s for people of all nations, tribes and languages who believe. In fact, the benefit of the price He paid isn’t just for people. No, it’s for the redemption of all creation in the new heavens and new earth.
It is terrible that things like figuring out how much should be paid for a human life are necessary for our current culture. No one would say that this is the way it should be. It is a tough and painful decision laced with greed and profits and compassion and worldviews. Christians must engage in this conversation to be a voice of hope. If there is a better way to solve these issues then let’s get to it. At the very least, let’s help people to view this in light of eternity.
