Although ‘integrated’ public health policies are assumed to be the ideal way to optimize public health, it remains hard to determine how far removed we are from this ideal, since clear operational criteria and defining characteristics are lacking.

Health expenditure depends heavily on age. Common wisdom is that the age pattern is dominated by costs in the last year of life. Knowledge about these costs is important for the debate on the future development of health expenditure. According to the 'red herring' argument traditional projection...