While I'm sitting here pouring through government data, a really cool article has been sitting on my desk for a while.
"The Human Factor" from the NYTimes Magazine, 2004-03-28
Unfortunately, one of the best parts of the article is only in the print version. Observe:
Pay to Breathe
How much Americans will spend to avoid one day of each symptom, as estimated for the E. P. A. (in 1990 dollars)
Coughing ................................. $4.98
Chesh Tightness .......................... $6.29
Head congestion/sinus .................... $8.20
Shortness of breath ..................... $10.57
Allergy (chronic) ........................ $15.72
Eye irritation ........................... $15.72
Throat Congestion ........................ $16.35
Drowsiness ............................... $18.87
Nausea ................................... $22.01
Headache ................................. $25.16
Asthma attack ............................ $32.48
Bronchitis & Emphysema (chronic) ................................ $84.28
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmm! Datalicious!
The really cool part about this is you can now guestimate whether or not it's better to fix something or just pay off everyone who would be affected. Nuclear fallout? Average person in a population of 100,000 affected within 200 miles would pay $700,000 in medical bills. But the cost to clean up would be 10 trillion. Pay them off!
Ok, so that's a bit much. But really, it does make enormous sense. It also guides us what to spend our top research dollars on, based on the population and how these diseases are spread out. Do you think the "drowsiness" costs include coffee?
