The difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy might sound like something that is only of interest to healthcare professionals but it actually lies at the heart of much of our political debate. Questions about the sustainability of public finances, how much tax we will need to pay in the future, how far and how fast public service spending should be cut, intergenerational fairness and even how many immigrants the country needs all depend on the rates of ageing and healthy ageing.
Our long-term fiscal challenge is essentially a health spending challenge. Every year, the OBR produces a report on the UK’s long-term fiscal sustainability which says that upward pressure on public finances means that, even if the government’s public spending cuts are implemented, the country’s debt-to-GDP level will start to rise again in the middle of the next decade. Michael O’Connor put the projections from the most recent report on a…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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