Monday, August 17, 2009

"Life Expectancy" Lines

Picking up on a Rick E. post, we have Jacobson.

...for the frequent assertion that we spend more per person on health care, but have a shorter life span than other industrialized countries. True, but there is a failure to state material facts necessary to avoid the misleading impression that the shorter life span is a result of our health care system.

Auto accidents and murders, folks.

If we adjust those OUT of the US 'life expectancy' numbers, the US becomes #1 in the world.

1 comment:

krshorewood said...

Wow, one book. Hell, ball game over, case closed.

Of course this study Chapman cites is kind of like the kind of half-truths cranked out by John Stossel.

In this case, the take absolute numbers, not murders or car crashes per 100,000. Lies, damned lies and statistics. There are some central European countries where the accident rates are appalling but they still rank ahead of us in life expectancy.