Necessary but not sufficient: Why health care alone cannot improve population health and reduce health inequities

The health of Americans is in decline, a crisis that has been building for some years. Since the 1980s, US life expectancy has risen at a slower pace than in other countries. United States life expectancy peaked in 2012 and is now falling, while life expectancy in other countries continues to increase. Shorter lifespans are not the only US health disadvantage. For many years, other industrialized countries have been outperforming the United States on a long list of health conditions. All this despite lavish US spending on health care, which far exceeds that of any other country.