According to a May 18 Madison Times op-ed, U.S. government research shows life expectancy rates declining in some parts of the country, primarily where those at the bottom of the economic ladder live.
Since 1999, average life expectancy has fallen by 1.3 years for women in 180 counties and for men in 11 counties. Most of these counties are predominantly poor. A Congressional Budget Office report released in April states that from 1980 to 2000 the life expectancy gap between richest and poorest increased from 2.8 to 4.5 years.
The National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau estimate average life expectancy in the United States at 77.9 years for both men and women. Other industrialized nations with some form of nationalized health care have notably higher rates. Life expectancy in Canada is 80.3 years, in Switzerland 80.6 years and in Japan 81.4 years.
