Although the United States spends more on health care than any other nation, a growing body of research shows that Americans are in poorer health and live shorter lives than people in many other high-income countries. The new report, U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health, synthesizes available research taking an in-depth look at this disadvantage in health and lifespan.
In the next four decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population. The resulting demographic shift will have broad economic consequences for the U.S., says the report Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population. The long term effects on all generations will be mediated by how the nation responds and how quickly.