When i was kid, no one talked about insurance. Everyone seemed to be covered in their jobs, jobs which actually lasted until people retired, then they received a company retirement. Those days are long gone. A thing of past.
“...Those days are long gone. A thing of the past.”
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They’re not in the past for federal employees and cronies of the government. These are their glory days.
The largest jump in deaths has been from heart disease. No one knows why the progress in combating heart disease has stopped. It may be from many factors. You are correct to give attention to our nation’s health care system that used to come from a healthy job market. People could get health care from insurance supplied by their employers. They could receive treatment for conditions that contributed to heart disease. Now, many Americans have no employment or inconsistent employment. It is hard to get consistent health care for heart disease if you have inconsistent insurance.
I given attention to the epidemic of deaths from opioids to suggest this too has affected the life expectancy. I know the numbers for 2016 opioid overdose deaths has not been released yet. But I suspect the numbers are above the 47,000 reported for 2015. As CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said, “Since 2000, the rate of deaths from drug overdoses has increased 137 percent.”
I might add, that the use of drugs, like cocaine, meth and the opioids, are contributing to heart disease. And they may contribute to another killers we do not know about.