Life Expectancy Shamefully Widens Between Bush' s Have's and Have Nots
The gap of economic unfairness and injustice between Bush's have's, have more's and the rest of the American people has grown wider during Dubya's terrible administration.
But now the gap in life expectancy has widened dramatically in this country where, unlike most other industrialized nations, health care is considered a commodity, not a right. When health care is not a human right but a commodity or privilege, the wealthy live longer and the rest do not.
I have written often on this site about the inequities and failure of US health care (just plug in health care on the Quicksearch menu button and read away). Let me just quote from one posting, "Health Care Should Not Be A Commodity," about this issue.
"A newspaper ad from the California Nurses Association briefly and clearly shows why the time is now for single-payer, universal health coverage in the United States.
"The United States is the only country among industrialized nations where healthcare coverage is tied to the workplace where fewer employers are offering it, the employees' share of the premiums or co-pays is skyrocketing and becoming unaffordable and coverage is lost when changing jobs. (It is not portable and COBRA is an extremely expensive almost unaffordable coverage.)
"The United States is the only country among industrialized nations where health care is a commodity and where profit making HMO's and other insurers avoid unprofitable clients, i. e. those that are really sick, refuse to insure those with pre-existing conditions or shift the cost of health care back to patients or other payers while they rake in billions."
According to an article in today's NYTimes, "New government research has found 'large and growing' disparities in life expectancy for richer and poorer Americans, paralleling the growth of income inequality in the last two decades.
"One of the researchers, Gopal K. Singh, a demographer at the Department of Health and Human Services, said 'the growing inequalities in life expectancy' mirrored trends in infant mortality and in death from heart disease and certain cancers.
"In 1980-82, Dr. Singh said, people in the most affluent group could expect to live 2.8 years longer than people in the most deprived group (75.8 versus 73 years). By 1998-2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 versus 74.7 years), and it continues to grow, he said.
"After 20 years, the lowest socioeconomic group lagged further behind the most affluent, Dr. Singh said, noting that 'life expectancy was higher for the most affluent in 1980 than for the most deprived group in 2000.'
“ 'If you look at the extremes in 2000,' Dr. Singh said, 'men in the most deprived counties had 10 years’ shorter life expectancy than women in the most affluent counties (71.5 years versus 81.3 years).' The difference between poor black men and affluent white women was more than 14 years (66.9 years vs. 81.1 years).
This should be absolutely no surprise to anyone.
Given the growing disparity in this country between the very wealthy and the moderate to lower income groups and lack of universal, affordable health care, lower life expectancy inevitably follows.
However, this should not be occurring in the United States in the 21st century.
As I wrote in that posting, "Unlike the United States, industrialized nations such as Germany and France, finance and administer health care for all, but leave the delivery of that health care to private health care professionals.
"However, the United States has a system already in place that would do just that if extended to everyone. It's called Medicare and based on Social Security in which employers, employees and the government contribute funds.
"There is a House bill in existence H.R. 676 that would provide Medicare for All. Healthcare Now has all the information."
Not only have the Bushite's stained and damaged the image and integrity of the United States with their pre-emptive invasion and occupation of Iraq, destroying that country by turning it into a killing field; caused an economic catastrophe; Bushites have also increased economic and social disparity and injustice in the nation and promoted corporate crony private health care as a commodity (feeding at the government trough). Profit before people's health.
Bush and his administration flunkies have caused "...'widening socioeconomic inequalities in life expectancy' at birth and at every age level.' " as reported by the NY Times.
Unlike Bush's have's and have more's, regular hardworking Americans with moderate or low incomes are condemned to a shorter life expectancy.
Yet another unjust, terrible Bush administration legacy.
But now the gap in life expectancy has widened dramatically in this country where, unlike most other industrialized nations, health care is considered a commodity, not a right. When health care is not a human right but a commodity or privilege, the wealthy live longer and the rest do not.
I have written often on this site about the inequities and failure of US health care (just plug in health care on the Quicksearch menu button and read away). Let me just quote from one posting, "Health Care Should Not Be A Commodity," about this issue.
"A newspaper ad from the California Nurses Association briefly and clearly shows why the time is now for single-payer, universal health coverage in the United States.
"The United States is the only country among industrialized nations where healthcare coverage is tied to the workplace where fewer employers are offering it, the employees' share of the premiums or co-pays is skyrocketing and becoming unaffordable and coverage is lost when changing jobs. (It is not portable and COBRA is an extremely expensive almost unaffordable coverage.)
"The United States is the only country among industrialized nations where health care is a commodity and where profit making HMO's and other insurers avoid unprofitable clients, i. e. those that are really sick, refuse to insure those with pre-existing conditions or shift the cost of health care back to patients or other payers while they rake in billions."
According to an article in today's NYTimes, "New government research has found 'large and growing' disparities in life expectancy for richer and poorer Americans, paralleling the growth of income inequality in the last two decades.
"One of the researchers, Gopal K. Singh, a demographer at the Department of Health and Human Services, said 'the growing inequalities in life expectancy' mirrored trends in infant mortality and in death from heart disease and certain cancers.
"In 1980-82, Dr. Singh said, people in the most affluent group could expect to live 2.8 years longer than people in the most deprived group (75.8 versus 73 years). By 1998-2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 versus 74.7 years), and it continues to grow, he said.
"After 20 years, the lowest socioeconomic group lagged further behind the most affluent, Dr. Singh said, noting that 'life expectancy was higher for the most affluent in 1980 than for the most deprived group in 2000.'
“ 'If you look at the extremes in 2000,' Dr. Singh said, 'men in the most deprived counties had 10 years’ shorter life expectancy than women in the most affluent counties (71.5 years versus 81.3 years).' The difference between poor black men and affluent white women was more than 14 years (66.9 years vs. 81.1 years).
This should be absolutely no surprise to anyone.
Given the growing disparity in this country between the very wealthy and the moderate to lower income groups and lack of universal, affordable health care, lower life expectancy inevitably follows.
However, this should not be occurring in the United States in the 21st century.
As I wrote in that posting, "Unlike the United States, industrialized nations such as Germany and France, finance and administer health care for all, but leave the delivery of that health care to private health care professionals.
"However, the United States has a system already in place that would do just that if extended to everyone. It's called Medicare and based on Social Security in which employers, employees and the government contribute funds.
"There is a House bill in existence H.R. 676 that would provide Medicare for All. Healthcare Now has all the information."
Not only have the Bushite's stained and damaged the image and integrity of the United States with their pre-emptive invasion and occupation of Iraq, destroying that country by turning it into a killing field; caused an economic catastrophe; Bushites have also increased economic and social disparity and injustice in the nation and promoted corporate crony private health care as a commodity (feeding at the government trough). Profit before people's health.
Bush and his administration flunkies have caused "...'widening socioeconomic inequalities in life expectancy' at birth and at every age level.' " as reported by the NY Times.
Unlike Bush's have's and have more's, regular hardworking Americans with moderate or low incomes are condemned to a shorter life expectancy.
Yet another unjust, terrible Bush administration legacy.
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