3 ms·
It’s remarkable how much of the article narrates a tale of opioids and suicide, whereas the obvious elephant in the room seems the be the poor, or lack thereof
by mbroncano 8y ago
It’s remarkable how much of the article narrates a tale of opioids and suicide, whereas the obvious elephant in the room seems the be the poor, or lack thereof of a public health care system.
- refurb 8y agoMore money is spent on public healthcare in the US than private healthcare.
- vivekd 8y agoI dont disagree that public healthcare would improve life expectancy but it wouldn't cause a decrease in life expectancy as healthcare is not any less accessible today than in the past
- mbroncano 8y agoCitation needed, if only because of the increased expense. Also, public heath care plays a massive role in opioids treatment and suicide prevention, at least in developed countries. What seems to be clear is, unless the issue if acknowledged, the US will continue to slide literally to developing countries life expectancy levels.
- JoeAltmaier 8y agoI wonder if I should be concerned. If I simply avoid opioids and suicide, I'm safe?
- mbroncano 8y agoIt depends. Do you attend a high school in America?
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoIs this a reference to shooting deaths? If so, you should be aware that there are ~100 mass shooting deaths a year despite the sensational coverage they get in the media. America does have many more gun deaths than other countries, but the majority of those deaths are suicides and a majority of the homicides are in high crime areas. This is a problem that we can address, but mass shootings, though tragic and terrifying, are not a large public health issue.
- mbroncano 8y agoThe intentional murder rate in the US is around an order of magnitude bigger than in most countries in Western Europe, Australia or Canada. If you think that’s not an issue, I guess I must disagree.
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoI do think that's an issue, and I said it's one we can address. It's separate from the issue of mass shootings in schools, which is what I was commenting about.
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoUm, the article specifically mentioned that >the drug and suicide deaths account for many years of life lost because they occur mostly in young to middle-aged adults. Hence their large effect on life expectancy. Of course healthcare effects life expectancy but the net effect on overall life expectancy has been small because half-assed legislation has ensured that recent gains for the poor and sick have come at the expense of the middle class and healthy.
- nonbel 8y agoSee my post here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18561136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18561136 Depending on how the data breaks down that could just be a narrative they are pushing for whatever reason. The "overdoses" include poisoning by pretty much any drug.