If you want to have a shot at making it through the worst of the collapse stay healthy and avoid accidents. Medicine will be less available as the depression grows worse and businesses fail. Below are some statistics about various diseases and disabilities.
| Number of Americans | Disease or disabling condition | Estimated cost or comment | Source | Cost |
| 178,600,000 | Overweight or Obese | $861 to $957 billion by 2030: 16-18% of health care costs | American Heart Association | 957,000,000,000 |
| 50,100,000 | Medically attended injury and poisoning in noninstitutionalized population | $406 Billion: $326 in lost productivity, $80 in medical treatment | Journal of Epidemiology and Community health | 406,000,000,000 |
| 38,284,000 | Severe Disability under 65: 24,146,000. Over 65: 14,138,000. Total: 12.6% of Americans 2010 | $357 Billion on programs for working age people with disabilities, 12% of federal outlays | Census bureau | 357,000,000,000 |
| 1,500,000 | Autism Spectrum Disorder | $200-400 Billion in 10 years | Autism society | 300,000,000,000 |
| 28,500,000 | Diabetes – 8.3% of Americans | $245 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 245,000,000,000 |
| 5,000,000 | Alzheimer’s | $203 billion and $1.2 trillion by 2050 | Centers for Disease Control | 203,000,000,000 |
| 13,700,000 | Cancer diagnosis (not all will die) | $173 billion in 2020 | 173,000,000,000 | |
| 80,000,000 | Heart disease 17% of health cost now, $818 billion by 2030 | $108.9 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 108,900,000,000 |
| 128,000 | Foodborne illness hospitalizations. 48 million cases/year | $77.7 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 77,000,000,000 |
| 795,000 | Strokes | $53.9 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 53,900,000,000 |
| 7,500,000 | Mental Retardation | $51.2 Billion in 2003 | 51,200,000,000 | |
| 68,000,000 | High Blood Pressure | $93.5 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 47,500,000,000 |
| 15,000,000 | Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease | $38.8 Billion in 2006 | Centers for Disease Control | 38,800,000,000 |
| 1,148,200 | HIV infection and over 13 years old | $36.4 Billion in 2006 | Centers for Disease Control | 36,400,000,000 |
| 600,000 | Heart Failure | $34.4 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 34,400,000,000 |
| 31,000,000 | Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) | $34 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 34,000,000,000 |
| 2,600,000 | Falls of elderly over 65 | $30 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 30,000,000,000 |
| 8,000,000 | Gout | $20 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 20,000,000,000 |
| 1,300,000 | Rheumatoid arthritis | $19.3 Billion in 2010 | American College of Rheumatology | 19,300,000,000 |
| 19,000,000 | new STD infections/year (Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis) | $17 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 17,000,000,000 |
| 5,000,000 | Fibromyalgia | $13 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 13,000,000,000 |
| 800,000 | Cerebral Palsy | $11.5 Billion in 2003 | 11,500,000,000 | |
| 25,000,000 | Ear Infection | $3 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 3,000,000,000 |
| 20,000 | Hemophilia | $3 Billion assuming $150,000/yr/person | Centers for Disease Control | 3,000,000,000 |
| 14,000,000 | Vision impairment | $2.5 Billion in 2003 | 2,500,000,000 | |
| 1,400,000 | Inflammatory Bowel Disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease) | $2.2 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 2,200,000,000 |
| 48,000,000 | Hearing Loss | $2.1 Billion in 2003 | 2,100,000,000 | |
| 450,000 | Pulmonary Embolism | $1.5 Billion | 1,500,000,000 | |
| 25,000 | Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis | $1.25 Billion | Centers for Disease Control | 1,250,000,000 |
| 4,500,000 | Bitten by dogs, 800,000 get medical care | $489 million or $29,396 per claim in 2011 | Centers for Disease Control | 489,000,000 |
| 73,000 | Escherichia coli O157 | $405 million | Centers for Disease Control | 405,000,000 |
| 10,000 | group A streptococcal pharyngitis in children | $381 million | 381,000,000 | |
| 10,528 | Tuberculosis (TB) | 2.1 million at $2,000 per case (but up to $250,000 per person if drug resistant) | World Health Organization | $2,100,000 |
| 650,043,728 | Clearly many Americans have multiple diseases and disabilities | Total cost not too meaningful since the overweight/obese cost includes many of these diseases, many diseases not included, etc. | 3,250,727,100,000 |
