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I hate on the ACA as much as the next guy, but the article you linked blames drug overdoses and suicides. For that I would blame the for-profit health care syst
by LarryDarrell 7y ago
I hate on the ACA as much as the next guy, but the article you linked blames drug overdoses and suicides. For that I would blame the for-profit health care system pushing opioids and the (Great Recession + inadequacy of our mental health care system). To blame that on a law that sought to eliminate preexisting conditions and to establish a baseline as to what a health insurance plan ought to provide seems like a stretch. Having a free yearly physical isn't going to help your crushing depression and economic anxieties.
- jdoliner 7y agoI was just linking that as a reference for the declining life expectancy. I don't think they even come close to establishing opioid and suicide deaths as the cause, that's just journalistic conjecture. If you look at the number of opioid and suicide related deaths it's very small compared to the total population of the US, so the math just doesn't seem to work out for me. I remember an HN comment a while ago that worked out how many deaths you'd need from those causes to lower the life expectancy as much as we're seeing and it was a lot higher than what we're seeing now. Unfortunately I can't seem to unearth the comment.
- FireBeyond 7y agoApropos of anything else, as of 2019, you are more likely to die of an opiate overdose (accidental or deliberate) than you are in an MVA. That's staggering. Of course, not unexpected in a country that has 3% of the world populace but 81% of the world's opiate use.