Question

What do you believe is contributing to the lower life expectancy in the US compared to other similar countries? Does increased healthcare spending translate to better health outcomes, why or why not?

Answer 1

There are a number of factors contributing to the lower life expectancy in the US compared to other similar countries. I would like to highlight two most crucial factor. The first one is the unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits of most of the Americans. Studies show that United States is one of the country with highest obesity rate in the world. This drastically increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic heart disease and strokes and hence increasing the mortality rate. The other crucial factor contributing to lower life expectancy in the United States is the lack of health insurance among majority of Americans. It is estimated that aound 45 million Americans do not have any health insurance which is significantly very less when compared to major European countries or countries like Canada.

No, increased healthcare spending does not guarantees better health outcomes. I am saying this because various studies and researchers have found that raising the budget on healthcare among various geographic regions have not created better health results. In fact, what they found was a mixed outcome. The biggest evidence for this fact is that America has spended more in healthcare in comparison to any other country in the world for years. Still, it faces lower life expectancy than many other countries. But, things like changing work culture, lifestyle, eating habits can significantly improve the number of healthy people in a country.