Spreading the Health: Americans’ Estimated and Ideal Distributions of Death and Health(care)

Recent debates in the United States about universal health care – with some viewing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) as a moral imperative but others viewing it a government intrusion – have highlighted differences in opinion about how the costs and benefits of heath care should be distributed among poor and rich Americans. Using two metrics – life expectancy and access to healthcare – we sought to measure people’s understanding of how health is currently distributed among Americans, as well as assess their preferences for how health should be distributed. We then compared these estimates to the actual distribution. Importantly, we also explored whether Americans from across the political and income spectrums (rich and poor, liberal and conservative) showed consensus in their ideals.