Latest issue in the debate over universal health care:
Americans are living longer than ever but not as long as people in 41 other countries.
The Associated Press reports we’ve been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyle.
Countries that surpass us include Japan, most of Europe, as well as Jordan, Guam and the Cayman Islands.
At the same time, we’ve lost our position as the tallest people on Earth to the Dutch, who average about two inches taller than typical Americans. In fact, American men now rank ninth and women 15th in average height, having fallen short of many other European nations.
Scientists are pondering.
“Something’s wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries,” says Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health, Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Researchers said several factors have contributed to our falling behind. A major one they city is that 45 million Americans lack health insurance while Canada and most European countries have university health care.
But it’s not as simple as health care.
n Nearly a third of our adults are obese and two-thirds are overweight. We have the resources to become fat and lazy.
n Black Americans have a shorter life expectancy and higher rate of infant mortality.
So here’s the debate: Do we have the best health care system? There’s more at stake than insurance.
Murray says we need to reduce cancer, heart disease, lung disease, tobacco use, and so on.
And I think maybe we need to reduce stress.
We work 28 percent more hours than the French and 25 percent more than the Germans.
Why? Researchers have lots of answers: higher taxes in Europe reduces incentive; stronger unions push for shorter work weeks.
Fact is we work more, pay people to do things – like housework – we might do ourselves with extra time off. And we have a shorter lifespan.
As someone who, at 70, is pondering potential end-of-life issues and also still working, I’m too mired in my lifestyle to change now. I will continue to labor at a computer to pay Lucy to do my dreaded housework.
But maybe I should encourage my grandchildren to play more, go for balance instead of focusing on the work ethic? Maybe there is something to universal health care?
Paying more taxes may be a cheap price to pay for a longer life.
What do you think?
August 15th, 2007 - 7:37 am
Universal health CARE is not the answer…healthier lifestyles, good nutrition, prevention of disease, especially diabetes and obsesity is the key. If you don’t have the disease, you don’t need any treatment/health care. Stress is a factor, but who says work is stressful? It depends on the person. Being true to who you are is the key. Housework is stressful for some and working 40hrs/week in a job that one hates is stressful for some. Loving what you do is not stressful. People just need to be more honest and present in their life choices…take responsibility for their own happiness and not look for someone else to provide that for them. Hard work never killed anyone.
August 15th, 2007 - 8:19 am
Has it ever occurred to anyone that our health-care system might be part of the problem, not the answer? Iatrogenic illness and injury causes more deaths every year than car accidents and cancer. When one can run to the doctor for every minor ouch, one tends to do so–and one usually ends up with a DRUG that, despite alleviating one’s immediate symptoms, minor or major, might stay in one’s system and mess up one’s innards in ways never imagined. I would venture a guess that Americans are also the most DRUGGED people on the planet. The war on drugs might want to consider taking on the media front, which promotes drugs more than any other product. (Ask your doctor if xyz drug is right for you!) But that wouldn’t be economically feasible, now, would it.
Does stress play a factor in all this? Absolutely. Do drugs promote stress? Good grief, yes. Are our politically correct social values so screwed up we’ve lost our independent, can-do spirit? Individually, perhaps not; as a nation, looks like it. Is there a simple answer to all this? Excuse me a second while I stand in the corner and laugh hysterically.
August 15th, 2007 - 8:51 am
It seems the change in this country’s demographics has been left out of the dialogue on longevity. Universal quality health care would be wonderful but we have many other issues to address also. In our part of the country we have a continual influx of people from countries where there is little or no health care……these people are a part of the research quoted. I suggest the research quoted is not well rounded?
I’m not saying unpleasant facts should be ignored but I think slanted information should not be presented as “fact”. Let’s discuss the whole picture if we’re going to have a dialogue.
August 15th, 2007 - 9:08 am
Universal healthcare should be available today. And, not one cent to greedy health insurance firms. Most people don’t realize that insurance firms are required to only spend 30 percent of their income on healthcare for patients… the rest is profit. I am one of the uninsured. My husband lost his insurance when his company went to China. I had polio and have crippled legs. No one wants to insure me.
Until we have more efficient vaccines for cancer ( cervical, lung, colon, prostate) and a better quality of life for all citizens ( including work for all who want it), we will have high health bills. I want cures…not care. My mother died of pneumonia at age 76 after a broken hip, and collasped spine. She was in terrible pain. She worked hard picking cotton outside most of her life and weighed 71 pounds at death. Obesity was not a problem. She just wore out from hard work. It was a miserable life. And, all those who think that hard work is not a problem should suffer as she did.
August 15th, 2007 - 9:21 am
If the aim is to live longer, it would seem helpful to reflect why we are doing this (other than simply to avoid the alternative). Am I better or my world better for my having lived longer?
When school is out, frequently you don’t know what’s around the corner but maybe it would be interesting to find out.
August 15th, 2007 - 11:24 am
Have you looked at the statistics on health care in Canada and other countries? The length of time it takes to just see a doctor and then the months you wait if you need surgery? Our government can’t run a successful post office, what makes you think it can run a competent health care system?
If we are not healthy then who’s fault is it? Have any of those people who are overweight even gotten out and walked on a regular basis? That doesn’t cost anything and yet would help lead them to a healthy life. It’s time we got back to taking care of ourselves and being responsible for our own actions.
August 15th, 2007 - 12:09 pm
The suggestion that we are not keeping up in height and other measures is way off base…….we are not as homeogenous a population as the other countries cited. The melting pot is not able to keep up with a less complex mixture of people when you select some criteria. A bouquet of mixed flowers is not as intense in any one color as a bouquet of all one flower…. so why do researchers get so blinded by their own data that they can’t even see the logic of the comparisons? Seems to me we need more women researchers so that the information published can be based upon some real logic and usable data and actually have an important point.
With regard to the healthcare issues the previous blogs are hitting some very valued points and there is a lot to evaluate beyond the greed of doctors, hospitals, insurance companies and drug manufacturers. Being poor means many people have to “settle” for what can be provided by various assistance programs already in place. Many people are just slightly above the income that qualifies them so they end up with nothing because they still cannot afford the co-payments even with a low-cost insurance plan.
I would gladly designate some of my tax dollars away from a long list of government programs and send it to the good citizens who need the help.
August 15th, 2007 - 2:50 pm
Live longer not. I am 62 years old and do not have health coverage. We are living in an area that is much more than we can afford so my husband(67) is working approximately 60 hours, six days a week to keep us here. Why? because both of our mothers are elder, one living in assisted living, one at home with 24 hour care for that is where she wants to die. One mother is 86 and one 90. Live longer, neither can take care of themselves, the medical bills are unbelieveable, and neither are happy with their quality of life. They both have the the best that can be gotten, Neither is happy and they would have been better if they would have died in their early 80’s for that is when their life became less than quality. Not only that they are very difficult to get along with because of their health and ability to do things. As a result all our lives are miserable and at our age we should be able to do things and maybe have some fun. At this stage I am not sure I will outlive this mess, if I do I will be to old to enjoy anything. I will be old and nasty like they are.
What is the purpose of living longer..???More bills like lots, raising our kids and parents. I am luckky for one thing both sets of parents can afford their care. Both parents have medicare and sub insurances. My mothers monthly meds are still over $1,000.00 a month. My mother in law just filled a perscription that will cost her $186.00 a month that is not covered……Something is really wrong……Yes lets make sure we live longer, but we also have to factor in the quality of life too.
August 15th, 2007 - 4:14 pm
In response to:” If we are not healthy then who’s fault is it? Have any of those people who are overweight even gotten out and walked on a regular basis? That doesn’t cost anything and yet would help lead them to a healthy life. It’s time we got back to taking care of ourselves and being responsible for our own actions.”
Ann, there is as much variation among fat people in terms of exercise and lifestyle as there is among thin people. Ironically, when fat women go out for a walk or a bike ride some people feel free to throw things at us. I know one friend gave up bike riding when she was almost knocked off her bike by a passing driver throwing food at her head! (Along with the usual insults, of course.) (Similarly, very thin people are not all anorexic, some really do come from families of thin people and are just naturally that way.)
I come from a family of fat people and I life a completely different lifestyle than they did. I have been a vegetarian since I was 15, never had a Big Mac, I walk and do water aerobics and sometimes weight lifting. I eat whole grains and beans and vegetables with some dairy. I only resort to fast food when we travel, and then stick to things like bean burritos, salads, and baked potatoes as the only things I can find in fast food joints on the road.
I have friends in Canada who are quite happy with their health care system. They certainly never live in fear that they will lose their health care if they lose their job and run out of COBRA benefits the way we do. They don’t have to file bankruptcy over high medical bills like Americans do. No one is withholding procedures so they can turn a profit. They wait for elective surgeries but so do we if our OR is booked up. They get emergency surgery just as promptly as we would.
Our uninsured people are not getting the regular check ups needed to catch disease early when its easily treated. More people have fallen into poverty under the latest administration and they are not getting adequate nutrition–thus their kids are not going to be as tall and strong as they would have been. Yes they are part of our statistics and our national shame. There is really no excuse for this in the richest country in the world. Our minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation, meaning we are paying less to poor workers than we used to, yet businesses resist passing higher minimum wage laws. A poor person who works 40 or more hours a week ought to be able to feed at least a wife and two kids, don’t you think? Some aren’t managing while working two jobs! Heaven help them if the car breaks down, as old cars often do.
I grew up in poverty and worked very hard to get out. It shouldn’t have to be as hard as it is to do that.
We do need to structure our work lives to build in time to exercise rather than trust that we will either get up very early and do it or do it after a full day of work. It used to be that we did more physical work and that was part of our work day. Now we have to work AND work out and it’s just not happening.
Portion sizes have doubled and even tripled in everything from candy bar and potato chip bags to soft drinks and hamburger sizes. There is a trend to introduce some smaller size items and we should all support that with our pocket book. Now that trans fats are on the way out, we should focus on high fructose corn syrup which is in almost every processed food. This contributes to poor metabolization of sugars and pre-diabetes. It is not handled in the same way as regular sugar. Plus this hidden sugar gets added to the sweets we already eat too much of as a nation. Sodium is also present in astonishing amounts in processed foods.
Labels also should be more honest about serving size, looking at what the average person actually consumes. I saw one small TV dinner that listed the serving size as half of the dinner (it was two enchiladas and they split them into one for each serving). So if someone just glanced at the amount of fat, calories, carbs, and so on, they were off in their estimation because they needed to double it if they ate the whole dinner. Who eats half of a TV dinner and puts the rest away? I don’t see thin people doing that either!
There are lots of things to look at with regard to our longevity and health statistics, and we need better analysis so we know what to do about it.
August 15th, 2007 - 6:45 pm
I agree with much of the other previous responses. The biggest problem this country has forgotten & does NOT practice is preventive health care! Our food supply does not have the nutrients that makes & keeps a body healthy. We are toxic with all the toxicity in America, our bodies have tons of chemicals lodged in. This creates disease & obesity, not just the over-eating. Most of the Medical Profession will not address this and certainly not the Pharmaceutical Industry. We now hear eat organic, smaller portions, etc; but a minor few talk about cleansing the body to eliminate the toxins….a clean body will help heal itself as it was designed to do. The proper eating nutritionally based foods and taking cellular nutritionals that actually work nutrtionally in our bodies are the habits we all need. Health coverage is not the only answer, for our medical system only knows to push drugs and many drugs do shorten and kill lives as well. Social medicine with using preventative measures may be a good thing.(?) Bottom line is that we make our decisions and it is past time to make the correct ones to have that wonderful healthy anit-aging longevity we were designed to have. I also believe that the food industry knew what they have been doing and it was solely for profit. So what decisions are you going to make? What habits are you willing to change? It is up to each of us to make those right choices.
August 15th, 2007 - 7:45 pm
You say that it is too late for you to change, but you will encourage a more enjoyable lifestyle for your grandchildren. Perhaps you can pencil in more enjoyable time with your grandchildren somehow. I highly recommend it. Earlier today, I was enjoying the scent of my garden phlox and surprise lilies. I literally stopped to smell the flowers. It takes less time than you might imagine to do something every day for no other reason than the happiness it brings.
August 15th, 2007 - 10:49 pm
I think that we Americans have lost our edge on longevity because our lifestyle is very stressful. We try to be all things to all people in our community, state and the entire world. Thanks to Rosie the Riveter , working women became a new source for taxes which Congress has exploited and to this day it continues to overspend, especially in the military/industrial area while the infrastructure, day care and health care go begging. And many Americans don’t know what they want. They work too much, overbook their kids into too many activities, build too many freeways, live too close to each other, make too many demands of each other and themselves and in the end they are not happy. After all, if you win the rat race, you are still a rat. We need to re-evaluate our priorities and encourage each other to create better values for ourselves and our children.
August 17th, 2007 - 12:26 pm
I am impressed with these comments and this blog. I am learning alot, and appreciate everyone’s take on our lives. I highly recommend two books: The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life. Frankly, I think The Not So Big Life should be required reading for every human being in the U.S. The author is Sarah Susanka.
August 18th, 2007 - 6:22 pm
My 2 cents worth regarding “Here’s to our Longevity!”
I wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion that our grandchildren should be encouraged to play more and go for balance. I have long thought universal health care, even at the expense of paying more taxes, is the sign of a civilized nation.
But I also think the following:
• We are a self-obsessed nation. Most Americans do not own a passport. (That may change in the future but not because we are less self-obsessed. Homeland Security will demand it for those wishing to go to Canada or Mexico.) Our viewpoint is necessarily limited because most Americans have never had to view themselves or our nation through the prism of a foreign lens. There is a price to pay for that kind of myopia. I fear we are only starting to pay it.
• What you write about French and Germans working less is absolutely true. But there is a tradeoff involved. I have good friends of both nationalities in both countries. They work less but also have a lower standard of living. My husband and I have home-exchanged for 15 years, mostly in Europe. I can tell you for a fact that the standard is nowhere near what you and I are used to.
• Long ago I decided that I would prefer to labor at something I halfway liked instead of working at something I hated. If I understand what you are saying when you write, “I will continue to labor at a computer to pay Lucy to do my dreaded housework.” I presume you mean you might prefer dusting coffeetables to working at your computer. Really? Not me.
Last year, after spending a couple of months in Australia, I had to rethink a lot of what you write about. I’ve noticed a tendency among a lot of Americans to idolize Australia. Once, long ago, I immigrated to Australia. I left after several months. I never really understood until last year’s visit why the immigration did not “take” for me. Now I do. America is much like Australia, just bigger. I was homesick.
I, too, at 63, am pondering end of life issues. The direction our society has taken, and not just the political, is disheartening for me in a lot of ways. But perhaps I need to focus on the good stuff. There IS a lot of it, really. Australia is wonderful; I loved it there. But I learned it has its warts and limitations, too. Every place does.
So maybe what we need is a New View, one that is more universal, less jingoistic, more tolerant, especially more balanced. We need to understand that whatever choices we make, personal or national (less work-more work, lower standard of living-higher standard of living) a price is to be paid. Universal health care? Yep, it’s going to cost more in taxes. Want our daughters to be “strong and beautiful women?” Well, that may mean we have to accept their doing things we don’t approve of.
Anyway, that’s my two cents worth.
August 29th, 2007 - 12:04 pm
My first husband, Bruce Stewart, was one of the healthiest people I’ve ever known. He was also 27 years older than I. He didn’t drink alcohol or smoke, didn’t eat fried foods, drank lots of water, took vitamins and exercised daily. He looked at least 10 years younger than he was. In 1995, he died suddenly of a heart attack at age 70. A couple of months after his death, I received a report from Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center that Bruce had been in to see a doctor a year earlier for a physical because he had been having some chest pains. They diagnosed an arterial blockage and wanted to do an immediate triple bypass. He refused. He didn’t tell me about it. At first I was enraged. Upon reflection, I decided to empathize with Bruce. I had known him for 20 years and knew that he would never have wanted to be dependent on anyone, especially me. I also realized that when he had received that diagnosis, he must have decided to live life to its fullest because it was only a few weeks after that date that he took me to Europe for two of the best weeks I’ve ever spent traveling. We went back to Europe again that year, as well as to the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico. In short, we had a marvelous final year together and I wasn’t stressed out at the thought of losing him. Thinking about how he planned it made me feel better. Today, at 55, I care for my elderly parents, whom I adore. But their care has sent our entire family into serious financial challenges, and they complain constantly about their myriad physical issues such as not being able to see, hear, walk without help, get up out of a chair, and all kinds of other stuff. They didn’t plan to live to be 90. My dad’s favorite saying is, “If I’d have known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.” I’m in Kathleen Zuckerman’s corner. I don’t want to be kept alive by surgeries and expensive med’s or be a burden to my relatives. In the meantime, I’m committed to living in the present and enjoying as much as I can every day. And that includes an occasional donut.
August 29th, 2007 - 2:26 pm
It’s not how long you make it, but how you make it long… to paraphrase an old tobacco commercial. Who wants a long life if it’s not worth living. My mother is 88 and complains constantly about how horrible her life is. She resides in a very expensive assisted living facility with a personal caretaker 8 hours a day. She sees family at least once a week. Has great health care … does any of this make her happy? No way. My Dad had prostate cancer, diabetes, congestive heart failure and much more. He died at 76, still smoking and eating gravy every chance he got. He chose to live his life fully, to the end. Still driving and having waffles for breakfast. I still miss him, but I admire his courage not to hoard the minutes of his life like pills in a bottle. Some of us tend to think “if I give up this, I will be healthier.” But if the long life you achieve is more depressing the longer you live, then what’s the point?
August 29th, 2007 - 2:26 pm
It’s not how long you make it, but how you make it long… to paraphrase an old tobacco commercial. Who wants a long life if it’s not worth living. My mother is 88 and complains constantly about how horrible her life is. She resides in a very expensive assisted living facility with a personal caretaker 8 hours a day. She sees family at least once a week. Has great health care … does any of this make her happy? No way. My Dad had prostate cancer, diabetes, congestive heart failure and much more. He died at 76, still smoking and eating gravy every chance he got. He chose to live his life fully, to the end. Still driving and having waffles for breakfast. I still miss him, but I admire his courage not to hoard the minutes of his life like pills in a bottle. Some of us tend to think “if I give up this, I will be healthier.” But if the long life you achieve is more depressing the longer you live, then what’s the point?
November 19th, 2007 - 11:12 pm
The biggest question on Longevity was raised by Dr. Butler when he asked twenty years ago before starting the “Longevity Center Internationally”, are we simply living twenty years longer than our parents or is it taking us 20 more years to die.” How we spend those twenty years is up to us unless we are stricken by a major catastrophic illness. The twenty years we have added to life expectancy is to be used to establish a legacy for yourself. How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be remembered as a “giving person” who has helped others or simply someone who wanted it all for herself. Something to think about!
January 7th, 2008 - 10:31 pm
Good comment. It is a pitty that many people doen\’d think like trat. Thanks.
January 8th, 2008 - 10:05 am
Thanks for making this site