Small Biz Health Care Daily: Life Expectancy, Mortality and Other Positive Trends

The National Center for Health Statistics recently published preliminary data on life expectancy and death rates for 2007. A few highlights were:

• “Record high life expectancy was recorded for both males and females (75.3 years and 80.4 years, respectively).”

• “The U.S. mortality rate fell for the eighth straight year to an all-time low of 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2007 -- 2.1 percent lower than the 2006 rate of 776.5. The 2007 mortality rate is half of what it was 60 years ago (1532 per 100,000 in 1947.)”

• “Between 2006 and 2007, mortality rates declined significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death. Declines were observed for influenza and pneumonia (8.4 percent), homicide (6.5 percent), accidents (5 percent), heart disease (4.7 percent), stroke (4.6 percent), diabetes (3.9 percent), hypertension (2.7 percent), and cancer (1.8 percent).”

Raymond J. Keating, chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, observed:

“The general trends in the United States regarding life expectancy and mortality rates are overwhelmingly in the right direction. For all the criticisms leveled at the U.S. health care system, it’s still the best in the world. It’s a shame that the President and congressional leaders seem to ignore this critical fact. Health care reform should build and improve on what works in the current system. We should not be looking to rework health care to fit political desires. As the latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics makes clear, health care is too important to hand over to the government.”