IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE UNITED STATES HAS INCREASED BY FOUR YEARS.

IN THE LAST 25 YEARS, LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE UNITED STATES HAS INCREASED BY FOUR YEARS. The increase in life expectancy of four years in the United States over the last 25 years is also remarkable. (A lower amount than the global figure because, presumably, some of the improvements in world health came from improvements already in place in the United States—for example, deaths from measles fell by 83% and deaths from diarrhea fell by 51%). The increase should also be important in discussions of income growth, although I rarely see it mentioned in those discussions. The increase in American longevity is in part attributable to increased health care costs, but the improvement in health quality is rarely considered in discussions of increased health expenditures. Environmental expenditures and life style expenditures have also contributed to the increase in health quality, but these are also rarely taken into account because improvements in health quality are rarely taken into account.