My mother, who is now 95 years old had a heart attack at age 89. Total cost was $125,000; her copay was about $5,000; her annual premium was about $2,700. She says the last five years have been the best years of her life. She thinks the costs were well worth every penny, and so do I.Completely irrelevant to my point, and also not surprising at all. Most people have a strong urge to keep living, otherwise as a species we would die off rather quickly. Glad to hear your mother is doing well.
Maybe not relevant to your point, but supportive of your reference to end-of-life medical costs. Thanks for the good wishes for my Mom. BTW, how one values certain phases of one's life really has nothing to do with survival instinct.