Without question. The US for example had a higher life expectancy than New Zealand during the 1980s, then the US began to trail off and fall behind. Now it's ~2.7 years behind New Zealand. The US was also ahead of the UK as recently as 1983.

What changed? A few big things. Healthcare in the US became wildly expensive after the 1980s, following an extreme cost increase far beyond inflation, whereas before it was not far out of line vs other developed nations (eg share of GDP spent on healthcare; today it's commonly 2x the next closest nations on cost). And obesity exploded dramatically higher after the early to mid 1980s. Diets overloaded with sugar, carbs, high fructose corn syrup in everything, drive thrus as a routine, etc.

I do believe universal healthcare would have prevented that life expectancy gap from opening up between the US and the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Based on the expectancy increase path the US was on as recently as the early 1980s, it should be at 82-83 years now, rather than 78.x.

I also found it interesting to see what the insurance companies predicted my lifespan will be given I was born in 1980, don’t smoke, am fit & live in New Zealand.

Apparently the actuaries reckon I’ll make it to 91 and wife to 94.

I'm in favor of universal healthcare, but the state of our health is a holistic problem.

It includes our diet, restaurant culture, stress, play culture, misinformation, corporate influence, architecture, work culture, as well as our healthcare administration.

Thats a pretty big assertion.

I'm almost tempted to say it is political advertising, but I'd sooner admit it is just emotional dialogue

It's almost certainly not due to healthcare coverage, but rather obesity and the recent spike in overdose deaths.

Unfortunately, no. U.S. life expectancy has stalled O(10 years) while others steadily improve.

2013: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-us-life-expectancy-lowes... 2018: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https:/...

Life expectancy has also improved in this time frame in nations such as Germany where there also have been a slow drift upwards in obesity.

So Mexico has better healthcare for the average person than the US? Hardly.

As mentioned elsewhere, overdoses are significantly impacting average lifespan figures.

I don't think "better" is the sole quantifier here. Accessibility is an important thing.

Many Americans are afraid to go to the doctor because it's incredibly expensive. Many people brush off the early symptoms of serious illnesses because "well, what if it goes away and I get into debt for a small problem?" It's why a lot of Americans with cancer aren't diagnosed until it's too late--that apprehensiveness about getting a simple exam.

When it comes to getting major surgeries or treatment for complex illnesses, yeah, America is great if you've got the cash. But most countries can handle illnesses treated by a quick run of antibiotics or other relatively simple and routine treatments. America is special because it's a wealthy country on paper, yet people brush off illnesses like that and end up dead.