Politicians Shrug At US Decline In Life Expectancy

The Washington Post reports:

Americans’ life expectancy decline remains a pressing public health problem — but not a political priority.

The Washington Post spoke with more than 100 public health experts, lawmakers and senior health officials, including 29 across the past three presidential administrations, who described the challenges of attempting to turn around the nation’s declining life expectancy.

Those challenges include siloed operations that make it hard for public and private-sector officials to coordinate their efforts, a health-care payment system that does not reward preventive care and White House turnover that can interrupt national strategies.

Read the full article.

The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration had an urgent message last winter for his colleagues, brandishing data that life expectancy in the United States had fallen again — the biggest two-year decline in a century. https://t.co/M6AUSblJqt

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 28, 2023