How about there are more people sponging off of the system and effectively limiting the resources for the tax paying citizens?  Oh, woops.  Did I say that out loud? 

The American Revolution Continued

It's healthcare that saves and prolongs lives, not health insurance! No one is denied healthcare in America. 

The cost problem is largely due to the insurance company middle-man which serves no other purpose than to seperate people from their money.  If the Socialists succeed in turning that dubious job over to the government, it'll be even worse.

MSA/HSA's NOW!

I'll be blunt ----- Just as an experiment, factor out of the equation all of the premature deaths due to drugs, violence and bad living in America's inner citites and I bet that longevity factor shoots way up.

It's healthcare that saves and prolongs lives, not health insurance! No one is denied healthcare in America.

Thanks, matt, that can't be said too often. I'm sick of people equating the two.

So, everyone in the little country of Andorra has health insurance?

Rates of longevity vary, dependent on factors such as obesity, smoking, and even other factors such as wearing seatbelts, driving drunk and too fast, crime and violence, and who knows what other risky behaviors. And health insurance won't change any of those, unless Veiera is sure that if everyone had insurance, we would all be in stop smoking programs, diet and exercize programs, etc. and in the best of health. And there are studies that say black male adolscents are more likely to be killed than other groups. How would health insurance change that?

Let's face it...living an extra 3 or 4 years, say to 84 instead of 80 isn't all that great. Now if you could add those extra 4 years in your 30's, that would be something! And I hate to get into "quality of life" issues, but longevity just for the sake of longevity is not necessarily something to be achieved at all costs.

Uh, Matt as both an evil conservative, and sorta knowledgeable in the Insurance Industry, I know for a fact that, like everything else, Insurance Companies, (and yes, they are for profit companies) get more of the blame than is realistic, for the US health insurance quagmire, which is mainly the left making it sound worse than it really is, as usual. For example, in the great state of Vermont aka USSV, the state regulations with regard to health insurance, makes it very expensive for evil insurance companies to provide coverage in VT, as many coverages and rates are mandated, and it does not consider your health condition, with regard to your rates. So, what we have achieved in the USSV, is the quiet exit of most insuracne companies, and two gluttonous companies have remained, with kind of a monopolistic attitude, because they can. ($1500 per month for a couple in their 50's.) So yeah, the evil ins cos, like evil conservatives, are part of the picture, but are percieved as the monster, whilest the real monster is the USSV big gov regulation, in our tiny little snow state.

 See, the goal of the gov in USSV is indeed to drive out all the ins cos, so they can install their socialized healthcare, and continue their socialist agenda in the USSV.

The ideal scenario, again, like any other product or service, is to allow free competition, and reduced regulation. Rates would drop, due to competition and supply increases.

So my suspisions were correct. I knew there was a political component to this study on longevity. And of course it's liberal. 

Global warming, George Bush, lack of socialized medicine, Karl Rove, underfunded schools, "illegal" guns. All these "problems" sound like a liberal's hit-list. 

This is a no-brainer. It's our eating habits stupid. If you ever get a chance to talk to people from Europe, no matter what country they come from they all agree that Americans are fat. I thought that was just a stereotype they have of us until visiting a few western Europe countries. You have to search fairly hard to spot a fat European. Want to see a bunch of typical fat Americans? Go on a cruise ship. Stand at the buffet at watch the fireworks. How many hip replacements take place now versus 10 years ago? Hey Meredith STFU.

 Their lack of intelligence is appalling, I wonder if the MSM isn't really a jobs program for the mentally handicapped.

And as we all know, longevity is the only measuring stick for a quality life. Who cares if you spend your life living in servitude to your government or waiting in long lines for health care, at least you'll live an extra couple of miserable years!

This is my theory: the socialists in government choke off the health care and insurance industries with their regulations. And then they say, "Look! health care just doesn't work under
captialsim! We need to swap it out for government controlled health care!" And then you get the simpletons in big media like MV who believe it.

As proof that regulations make health insurance expensive just take a look at Massachussets. Mitt Romney eliminated the government regulations there and health insurance suddenly became affordable again. Other states would do well to follow suit.

So if I smoke two packs a day, drink copious amounts of alcohol,  eat red meat, and fried foods every day, and abstain from excercise every chance I get, by virtue of having an HMO, but little, or no gumption, or will power, I am guaranteed longevity.

Thanks Meredith, I will sleep better tonight. 

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. "

                   - Ben Kenobi on  Liberals, and the MSM.

Want a lower life span. Take in lots of illegal immigrants from third world countries

Lack of Health Insurance causes

• Childhood obesity

• Juvenile Diabetes

• Smoking

• Sugar consumption

• Alcoholism and drug addiction

• Teenage joyriders

• AIDS

• Cancer

Doesn't occur to them that once incurable diseases can now be controlled into childbearing years and the genetic tendency passes down.