Increasingly, Americans view living long and healthy lives as what they want from the health system. To realize this goal, people are willing to undergo invasive medical procedures such as liver transplantation for the purpose of surviving to experience the joy of an event such as a child’s wedding. People are also beginning to realize that by accepting responsibility for their own health they can increase their healthy life span, thereby enhancing their quality of life. One indication of this new-found accountability is that people are willingly modifying their behaviors by giving up harmful habits, such as cigarette smoking, and by adopting healthy behaviors, such as jogging and other forms of exercise, to extend healthy life.