One of the ideas here is that healthcare for the sick elderly is expensive, and so expensive that we cannot afford to treat them.
Here's how the argument goes: The Canadian healthcare system is under substantial stress. (IT IS.) So doesn't Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) relieve this stress in part by obviating the need for expensive end-of-life care? IT DOES.
But how much does the Canadian health care system save via MAID?
A Back-of-the-Envelope (BoE) calculation of those savings. Suppose that about 10,000 Canadian cancer patients die by MAID each year (roughly correct). Suppose that each would live one more year if they hadn't been euthanized (very uncertain). Suppose that year of care would have cost $33,000 (possibly low, but that's based on a recent study). Suppose that MAID costs nothing (untrue, but close enough for government work).
That's a lot of money, no question. However, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that Canada spent $340 billion on healthcare in 2023. So the BoE estimated savings resulting from MAID was < 0.1% of 2023 total healthcare spending. If my BoE estimate was too small by a factor of 5, then the savings were < half a percent.
TLDR summary: MAID saves Canada money, but not so much that we have no choice other than to euthanize the sick and elderly.
A quick comment on the duty to die argument.
One of the ideas here is that healthcare for the sick elderly is expensive, and so expensive that we cannot afford to treat them.
Here's how the argument goes: The Canadian healthcare system is under substantial stress. (IT IS.) So doesn't Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) relieve this stress in part by obviating the need for expensive end-of-life care? IT DOES.
But how much does the Canadian health care system save via MAID?
A Back-of-the-Envelope (BoE) calculation of those savings. Suppose that about 10,000 Canadian cancer patients die by MAID each year (roughly correct). Suppose that each would live one more year if they hadn't been euthanized (very uncertain). Suppose that year of care would have cost $33,000 (possibly low, but that's based on a recent study). Suppose that MAID costs nothing (untrue, but close enough for government work).
Then MAID saves the Canadian healthcare system
10,000 patients/year * $33,000/patient = $330 million/year.
That's a lot of money, no question. However, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that Canada spent $340 billion on healthcare in 2023. So the BoE estimated savings resulting from MAID was < 0.1% of 2023 total healthcare spending. If my BoE estimate was too small by a factor of 5, then the savings were < half a percent.
TLDR summary: MAID saves Canada money, but not so much that we have no choice other than to euthanize the sick and elderly.