The life expectancy among Native Americans in the western United States has dropped to below 64 years, close to life expectancies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. For many Asian Americans, it’s around 84 — on par with life expectancies in Japan and Switzerland.
Americans’ health has long been unequal, but a new study shows that the disparity between the life expectancies of different populations has nearly doubled since 2000. “This is like comparing very different countries,” said Tom Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations and an author of the study.
Called “Ten Americas,” the analysis published late last year in the Lancet found that “one’s life expectancy varies dramatically depending on where one lives, the economic conditions in that location, and one’s racial and ethnic identity.” The worsening health of specific populations is a key reason the country’s overall life expectancy — at 75 years for men and 80 for women — is the shortest among wealthy nations.
“It should not be that way for a country as rich […]
Much of the cause of the lower life expectancy in the US is due to racism and, of course, the huge gap in income in this country. Americans have always treated Native Americans as less than 2nd class citizens, which is apparent in their life expectancy. But the US probably has a higher rate of deaths by drug abuse than many other countries. We also don’t have a full national health care program compared to most countries. And with this new administration, it’s only going to get worse. No.2 and his ultra-wealthy cohorts just hate to spend money on government programs like education, health care, environmental care, etc. And the figures clearly show that.