Fenelon comments on U.S. life expectancy
Abbey Interrante, writing for the Newsweek, reports about the new bill introduced in Congress about the development of a plan to increase life expectancy in the United States. She quotes MPRC Acting Associate Director Andrew Fenelon, “American life expectancy is among the lowest in the industrialized world and currently sits about two to three years below most of our counterpart countries, and has emerged over just the last 30, 40 years.” The legislation is requesting the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan that will examine the causes of the falling numbers of life expectancy and propose solutions to those mentioned causes, such as premature death, smoking, obesity, infant mortality, access to high-quality health care, violence, among others. “The increasing gap between U.S. life expectancy and that of other countries is a serious crisis for a nation that spends more than any other country on health care” Dr. Fenelon added.
The legislation also is calling for analysis of differences in life expectancy, such as by sex, and its inequality that varies by state and neighborhood. Finally, there is also a call to study federal government efforts to prolong life and, as a consequence, increase life expectancy in general.