Free Republic

Life expectancy for Americans fell again last year, despite growing recognition of the problems driving the decline and federal and local funds invested in stemming them. Data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Thursday show life expectancy fell by one-tenth of a year, to 78.6 years, pushed down by the sharpest annual increase in suicides in nearly a decade and a continued rise in deaths from powerful opioid drugs like fentanyl. Influenza, pneumonia and diabetes also factored into last year’s increase. Economists and public-health experts consider life expectancy to be an important measure of a nation’s prosperity....

A new survey on health care is revealing that you may not be getting what you pay for if you check into a U.S. hospital. The U.S. healthcare system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care than other developed nations, according to the study, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. It found first-rate treatment for cancer but insufficient primary care for other ailments. The study said Americans pay more than $7,900 per person for healthcare each year - far more than any other OECD country - but still die earlier than their...