Agriculture and Industry killing us

The US health system and life expectancy.

This outcome is a stark and depressing condemnation of American capitalism in the 21st century. “The stagnation in life expectancy reflects deep societal challenges — not just in our health system but also in our economic and political systems,” said Dave Chokshi, a physician and former NYC health commissioner.

It was not just the pandemic. Americans of every age, at every income level, are unusually likely to die, from guns, drugs, cars, and disease. American babies are more likely to die before they turn five; American teens are more likely to die before they turn 20; and American adults are more likely to die before they turn 65. Europe has better life outcomes than the US across the board, for white and black people, in high-poverty areas and low-poverty areas.

The US has more drug-overdose deaths than any other high-income country—both overall and on a per capita basis. Even before the pandemic, life expectancy in the U.S. declined for consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, largely because of the opioid epidemic and drug overdoses. The U.S. has a higher death rate from road accidents than Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union. Even on a per-miles-driven basis, the US still has a higher death rate than much of Europe.

At 40 percent among adults, the US obesity rate is double the average of most European countries and eight times higher than Korea’s or Japan’s. Although the precise relationship between weight and health is contentious, the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund has stated bluntly that America’s obesity levels are responsible for roughly one-fifth of deaths among American adults aged 40 to 85.

The U.S. has fewer general practitioners per capita than most rich countries, in part because long and expensive medical education encourages doctors to become highly paid specialists. And along with this lack of affordable and accessible primary care, the US has the highest rate of avoidable deaths of any rich nation. (Examples of the OECD’s definition of “avoidable” mortality include deaths related to alcohol, shootings, accidents, and influenza.)