While medical science is saving more lives than ever before, the overall longevity of the population isn't improving. In the USA, longevity is even begining to decline. Why is this so? Part of the answer is that each life saved results in greater medical costs for that patient in the future. Higher costs, in turn, are eroding the social factors that prevent disease. The medical system is focused on saving people from heart attacks rather than preventing them. The net result is exploding health care costs while lives only get shorter.