I'm shocked that life expectancy is falling in the US - and infant mortality is crap, too

[McEdam]

The US comes in at no. 42 in international league tables of life expectancy - because so many people don't have health insurance, apparently. Perhaps we should be thankful we have an NHS, however much we like to complain.

Also scary stats re infant mortality - US really not where it should be. I gather birth in the US is quite medicalised - perhaps this shows that Hospital Knows Best approach/high C-section rates are actually not safer at all?

US tumbles down life expectancy ratings

Very interesting information. I think infant mortality rates are deaths of babies under 12 months old and I suspect that it's poverty that's implicated in a lot of these rather than what happens at birth. Anyone know more?

I'd say obesity, although rates of obesity in Scotland are now as high as in the US and the smoking levels are higher, which doesn't bode well for this country's future, sadly.

Malory - yes, article also states obesity as a reason for the fall in life expectancy. No reason given for infant mortality though.

obesity would have impact on infant mortality too, wouldn't it?

Interesting that Swaziland was bottom - why there and not Zim?

Found an older report on US infant mortality and that states a range of reasons such as:

• number of babies born pre-term has increased and pre-term populations are at a higher risk for morbidity and mortality - things such as increase in multiple births (partly due to IVF and fertility drugs) were cited. Also fewer babies born after 40 weeks, and more before 37 weeks - might be due to more medicalised births and elective cs I guess.

• Poverty

Also states that the US rates has actually stayed fairly stable. However other countires health care systems have improved greatly, thus raising them in the charts, pushing the US down.

Bluestocking, I found this country profile for Swaziland

Interesting, Mercy. It sounds more politically repressive than most other African countries which may be related.

Are these statistics of Americans in America, or also of anyone who gets sick and/or dies whilst in America. If the latter, perhaps this is because very sick people go to America for treatment because they actually have the best medical system in the world?

"perhaps this shows that Hospital Knows Best approach/high C-section rates are actually not safer at all? "

Sorry, McEdam, but that conclusion is really a huge leap from the facts which are presented. In my experience, the level of care provided to private patients (which is most everybody) in America is far -- and I mean FAR - superior to that of the NHS.

45 million uninsured sounds really high to me. Does that include illegal immigrants? And are they included in the ill health statistics?

Oh, and my sister qualify for medicare, and the level of care they get is also far better than the NHS.

"the best medical system in the world"

A system which only provided for people well off enough to pay for expensive insurance and sod the rest of you, does not say to me "the best system".

You might be able to afford the best treatment, I don't doubt it. But if you are down on your luck I wouldn't like to be ill in the USA.

I'm going on information provided to me by my American friends and I don't mean to cause offence, but I just have this need to defend the NHS (and the BBC)

Thinking of the infant mortality stats, isn't the community-based care immediately after birth significantly different in the US to here?

As I understand it even if you have fully comp medical insurance there are still no midwives / HVs popping in after you've left hospital unless you pay an additional maternity nurse or similar.
Not sure how it works with Medicare though.

American private medical coverage is dirt cheap compared to UK private medical. Private medical insurance in the staes comes with most jobs, most univertsity enrollment. It really isn't difficult to get. And people who are poor, get medicare. I always see it posted on here there poor people have no medical care in the states. That isn't true. I have two sisters who qualify for medicare and they get a better service than I get over here, with BUPA (mostly because BUPA cost a fortune and covers hardly anything).

The majority of Americans are either uninsured or grossly under-insured, Eleusis.

I don't think the number of visiting patients is going to sway the numbers much, even if they are included. Most of these folks will leave the US alive.

The cost of the NHS to every man, woman and child in the UK easily covers the most expensive health insurance available in the US which would cover you for absolutely everything. People here seem to have little interest in the true cost of the NHS - it's incredibly expensive.

Isn't there also that tiny little glich that however 'cheap' medical cover is it does not always meet need. Certainly many of my friends with kids with issues like autism and dyspraxia find there cover - well does not cover.
Perhaps I have been misinformed.

US private medical cover may be dirt cheap compared with UK private cover, but it still costs the patient more than the NHS, no?

It's fairly non-existant, MrsB.

I had a visiting nurse come out to me, because I couldn't stand the hospital and left hospital early.

But there's no such thing as visits until the baby is 10 days old. Children of the poor are reasonably well covered for vaccinations and free baby milk (or food for mum) under the WIC program.

Interesting idea, MrsB.

Eleusis, my point was perhaps high infant mortality rates show the so-called risk averse pro c-section medicalised approach to birth isn't actually any safer. It wasn't a general point about the standards of US healthcare. I don't know enough about US healthcare to draw firm conclusions, I posted the story so I could find out more.

Apols for cutting and running, btw, have been (horrors) working.

I have a bankrupcy in the US due to medical emergency when I was uninsured.

It's a fucking nightmare there and one of the reasons I'll never live there again.

Not sure about that Science teacher, according to the 2004 census, arounf 16% of Americans didn't have health insurance.

The cancer survival rates in the US are far far better than those in the UK.

No MRs Badger, as I said, the cost of the NHS to every man, woman and child would buy the very very best insurance available in the US.

US private medical insurance is extortionate! It typically costs over $500 a month for a family of four, and fewer and fewer employers are providing insurance.

Our PMI here costs about £40 per month for our family of seven (admittedly, only covering the cost of hospital and specialists, but that is where the bulk of US costs are too).

Chocolatedot, US health insurance most definitely does not cover you for absolutely everything - I've heard of cancer patients being visited by people who explain which drugs they can afford on their scheme.

The NHS is not incredibly expensive, the govt. has just spent a couple of years bringing investment/the budget up to the European average. We spend far less than the French, for e.g.