Portugal's secret to living longer
Life expectancy is dropping in the United States, despite the nation spending more per person on health care than any other country. So what is a place like Portugal \u2014 where people live longer with far fewer resources \u2014 doing right? And what is the United States missing?
Today on \u201cPost Reports,\u201d we bring you a tale of two sisters, two countries and two health systems.
Lurdes and Lucilia Costa share a lot in common. They\u2019re sisters, and they both have rheumatoid arthritis, a complex chronic illness that requires special medical attention to prevent worsening symptoms. But their health care experiences couldn\u2019t be more different, with one living in Portugal and the other in the United States.
For The Post\u2019s Frances Stead Sellers and her colleague Catarina Fernandes Martins, these sisters\u2019 divergent paths contain larger lessons for why a country with lots of resources, such as the United States, is floundering at keeping people alive \u2014 while Portugal, a small country that spends much less on health care, is doing so much better promoting longer, healthier lives.
\u201cPortugal is one of the countries that people describe as positive outliers,\u201d Sellers told \u201cPost Reports.\u201d \u201cThey\u2019re living longer than we are, and a key thing there appears to be primary care and community health. They\u2019re really looking after people before they get to hospital.\u201d
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A tale of two sisters, two countries and their health systems
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