"QALY" may not be obscure to you, but this is the first time I've ever seen it. It's always appreciated when you can spell out an acronym for other readers who maybe aren't as familiar with a topic as you are.
Given the context, Google leads me to believe:
QALY = Quality-adjusted life year
Yes, the idea is that extending life is important but not every year of life is equivalent. If you spend a year bedridden that’s not as good as a year housebound, which is not as good as a year when you are in perfect health.
So when people measure the value of interventions it’s measured in QALY.
The downside is that it’s subjective.