Yes especially given the Fred Hollows foundation used to ask for $20 which would mean 1 cataract surgery overseas.

Hmmm.... $20 for one person aged 50, with 15 to 20 working years ahead. Versus how much for one person aged 75, having mostly retired at 60 and relying on community health services due to vision difficulties for 15 years already?

I'm curious what the business case spreadsheet looks like for this.

Even if we disregard all the qualitative losses in community and family interaction and quality of life, I can't imagine a way to make even the cold finances work out for this.

To be fair it cost more in NZ (as no free doctors, Hospitals, etc) but agree it's a persons quality of life and costs so little

having met a few health economists, and having explored their approach to understanding both costs and benefits, I can assure you that no such analysis has taken place, and if it did quality of life is not a pertinent factor.

I'm a qualified Accountant (but never been an accountant) I'm a firm believer in let health professionals run health not Accountants

I was told recently (by a health economist) that providing me medicine that would increase my life expectancy by 27 years was a net negative, because I'd only cost the health system more money in that time. It works out cheaper if I die within the next 12 months as their model suggests.

I did not consider this a cogent analysis, and made some recommendations as to what they should do with their model.