Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate - Updated
https://slate.com/technology/2025/08/millennials-gen-z-death-rates-america-high.html]We’re mortality experts, and these facts stem from an analysis we did of death rates in 22 countries from 1980 through 2023 (the last year with reliable data). When we set out to do this research, we expected to find a story about the COVID-19 pandemic. America’s pandemic experience was much worse than that of our peers, with three U.S. deaths for every two in peer countries. Nonelderly Americans in particular were hit harder than nonelderly populations in other rich countries. This disadvantage only grew as vaccinations became available but were adopted by Americans at lower rates.
But what surprised us was that, from today’s postpandemic vantage point, the American health disadvantage doesn’t look like a pandemic story at all. The U.S. mortality disadvantage has been growing at about the same rate for years, and while it spiked during COVID-19, it still continues to rise.
Here’s another way to put this: In 2023 there were about 700,000 “missing Americans”—those who died in 2023 but would be alive if they had lived somewhere else. And that 700,000 is almost exactly the number that we could’ve predicted back in 2019, based solely on prepandemic trends. COVID and relatively low vaccine adoption are a problem for Americans. But our country seems to be, at a deeper level, a deadly place to live. What’s more, all of the studies we have (with some limited exceptions, like a study specific to California) stop before Donald Trump began his second term with enormous cuts to medical and health research and, now, to Medicaid.
There is a heated—and productive—debate about exactly why the U.S. is so much worse than our peers at keeping its populace alive. One influential theory focuses on deindustrialization and the way that Americans without a college degree in particular have been left behind. Another focuses on the way that social safety nets in this country, such as for unemployment, sickness, and pensions, remain small and insufficient compared with other wealthy countries. Others point to problems in the U.S. health care system, such as uninsurance, underinsurance, and high co-payments and deductibles, and to underlying trends in chronic diseases that might be caused by nutritional policy failures. Still others highlight America’s permissive gun laws and the large amount of time we spend in our cars.
But what surprised us was that, from today’s postpandemic vantage point, the American health disadvantage doesn’t look like a pandemic story at all. The U.S. mortality disadvantage has been growing at about the same rate for years, and while it spiked during COVID-19, it still continues to rise.
Here’s another way to put this: In 2023 there were about 700,000 “missing Americans”—those who died in 2023 but would be alive if they had lived somewhere else. And that 700,000 is almost exactly the number that we could’ve predicted back in 2019, based solely on prepandemic trends. COVID and relatively low vaccine adoption are a problem for Americans. But our country seems to be, at a deeper level, a deadly place to live. What’s more, all of the studies we have (with some limited exceptions, like a study specific to California) stop before Donald Trump began his second term with enormous cuts to medical and health research and, now, to Medicaid.
There is a heated—and productive—debate about exactly why the U.S. is so much worse than our peers at keeping its populace alive. One influential theory focuses on deindustrialization and the way that Americans without a college degree in particular have been left behind. Another focuses on the way that social safety nets in this country, such as for unemployment, sickness, and pensions, remain small and insufficient compared with other wealthy countries. Others point to problems in the U.S. health care system, such as uninsurance, underinsurance, and high co-payments and deductibles, and to underlying trends in chronic diseases that might be caused by nutritional policy failures. Still others highlight America’s permissive gun laws and the large amount of time we spend in our cars.
Missing from the info they provided: In the US, health insurance is mostly tied to employment. Would like to know the % of US jobs that actually provide the opportunity to get health insurance. Older people generally have help from the Medicare they paid into throughout their working years (and still pay for out of their Social Security benefits) and that helps, even when it requires supplemental insurance. As the corporate owned GOP moves to gut Medicare, olds will be dropping dead of treatable conditions much faster. One assumes that is part of the plan of the 'Pro Life Party".
If 'LIFE' is so precious that we must abolish bodily anatomy for women, why do we, as a nation, tolerate the dismal financial arrangements for helping to provide health care while shoveling money at corporate execs who hoard it all, thus keeping it out of circulation in the economy?
And safer gun laws? Don't make me laugh. That will only happen when more CEOs get dropped and the corporate ownership class starts buying pols who will put life ahead of the gun & ammo sector.
18 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
