Adding years to life and life to years
Despite dramatic advancements in prolonging and improving life over the past century (with average life expectancy climbing from 54 years in 1960 to 73 years at latest estimates)—ranging from reduced infant mortality rates to the unprecedented speed and scale of COVID-19-vaccine development—consider that the share of lives spent in poor health has not substantially diminished over time.
On average, people spend about 50 percent of their lives in less-than-good health and 12 percent in poor health, a ratio that has not substantially changed in the past 50 years.