←back to thread

Life expectancy rise in rich countries slows down: took 30 years to prove

(www.nature.com)
201 points andsoitis | 4 comments | 15 Oct 24 13:39 UTC | HN request time: 0.453s | source
Show context
defrost ◴[16 Oct 24 00:22 UTC] No.41854450[source]▶
For an interesting side piece:

    Curiously, however, for a system apparently stultified by the dead hand of government, Australia’s health system far outperforms the free market-based US healthcare system, which spends nearly twice as much per capita as Australia to deliver far worse outcomes — including Americans dying five years younger than us.
The shocking truth: Australia has a world-leading health system — because of governments

Source: https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/10/16/pubic-private-healthcar...

Bypass: https://clearthis.page/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crikey.com.au%2F...

    Overall, we now have the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world.

   This is contrary to the narrative that pervades the media about our health system — one in which our “frontline” health workers heroically battle to overcome government neglect and inadequate spending, while the population is beset by various “epidemics” — obesity, alcohol, illicit drugs.

    In fact, Australian longevity is so remarkable that in August The Economist published a piece simply titled “Why do Australians live so long?”
Other references:

The Economist: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2024/08/23/why-do-a...

AU Gov Report: Advances in measuring healthcare productivity https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/measuring-healthcar...

replies(14): >>41854605 #>>41854613 #>>41854799 #>>41855053 #>>41855120 #>>41855218 #>>41855732 #>>41856242 #>>41856326 #>>41857738 #>>41857930 #>>41857960 #>>41858153 #>>41876405 #
1. N_A_T_E ◴[16 Oct 24 00:51 UTC] No.41854613[source]▶
Is the US health system free market? The government provides healthcare via Medicare and Medicaid for seniors, the people for whom life expectancy and healthcare quality have the highest correlation.
replies(3): >>41854818 #>>41855084 #>>41855726 #
2. defrost ◴[16 Oct 24 01:39 UTC] No.41854818[source]▶
The quote is from a Crikey reporter, I (an Australian) wouldn't agree that the US health system is classic free market .. but it appears to have more regulatory capture by vested commercial non government profit orientated interests than by social policy best outcome for the masses civil authorities.

( Describing various systems in various countries as either communist of free market capitalist is pretty simplistic, it's not much as a linear spectrum either )

I'd also argue that the foundation for a high life expectancy doesn't start with good health care for seniors .. unless the metric is "life support via artificial means" .. life expectancy is grounded in healthy living and excerise from an early age well maintained with good health programs.

3. mitthrowaway2 ◴[16 Oct 24 02:38 UTC] No.41855084[source]▶
> the people for whom life expectancy and healthcare quality have the highest correlation.

What do you mean by this? Fatalities among the young will have a much larger impact on lowering nationwide life expectancy than fatalities among the elderly.

4. dahart ◴[16 Oct 24 04:51 UTC] No.41855726[source]▶
It’s a mixed bag, but the funding source doesn’t necessarily make it a controlled market, to the degree that Medicare and Medicaid pay non-government providers and allow competition (which again, is mixed). Medicare and Medicaid coverage make up one third of the US population. The other two thirds are on group/employer insurance, private insurance, or no insurance at all.

For non-seniors, the medical insurance system certainly sometimes doesn’t feel like a free market from the consumer perspective, but the insurance companies are private for-profit institutions, and the medical providers are too, so it may well fit the definition.