The life expectancy for Americans continues to grow, but will that trend continue with the changes in health care?According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, a child born in 2012 can expect to live to be 78 years and 9 1/2 months. That's up about 6 weeks from the previous couple of years. A 65 year old man can expect to live another 18 years, while women at that age can expect over 20 more years.

The trend in recent years has been that people are living longer.  The question is how these numbers will look a few years from now as we start to see the affects of the U.S. healthcare system. With reports circulating of treatments and medication being  denied to senior citizens, and the ever-growing problem for Americans trying to find "affordable healthcare", we may see life expectancy in this country decline.

The CDC says heart disease and cancer remain the leading causes of death. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. With the suicide rate up 2%, one might wonder if individuals with mental health issues are able to receive the help they need.

For those of us who are still a few years away from retirement and the golden years, we can't help but wonder what the life expectancy will be when we get there.

 

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