The United States ranks near the bottom in life expectancy among wealthy nations despite spending more than double per person on healthcare than the industrialized world's average, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That's a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico, where spending on healthcare is many times less per person, the Paris-based organization said. Total U.S. spending on healthcare was $7,290 a person in 2007, nearly two-and-a-half times the OECD average of $2,984. The figures include spending by both individuals and governments.
