A new report from the CDC shows a drop in American life expectancy for the second year in a row, which is not solely a result of the opioid epidemic but is also indicative of greater problems that plague the nation's healthcare system, according to David Blumenthal, MD, who wrote an op-ed for STAT.
Dr. Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, cited a CDC report which found the average life expectancy in the U.S. had dropped 0.1 years to 78.6 years old. This is the first time in 50 years life expectancy dropped two years in a row.
While the opioid epidemic partly contributed to the rising death rate for people between the ages of 15 and 64, Dr. Blumenthal said the American healthcare system's culture of overprescription and the power of pharmaceutical companies should be re-examined.
"The profitability of drugs in the U.S., a result of sky-high and skyrocketing drug prices, has made the aggressive marketing and sale of new prescription opioids an almost irresistible temptation for American pharmaceutical companies," Dr. Blumenthal writes. "Bombarded by clever advertising, U.S. physicians have, in turn, become quicker on the draw in prescribing opioids than physicians in other developed nations."
The lack of access to healthcare services is one of the basic problems that results in the lowered life expectancy, Dr. Blumenthal added. He argues this warrants a fundamental reimagining of the nation's healthcare system.