Medicare Will Start Using New Life Tables

On March 31, 2016, CMS announced they will begin using the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2011 Life Tables. In 2011, the overall expectation of life at birth was 78.7 years—unchanged from 2010.

The CDC summarizes life expectancy by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex in Table A. Between 2010 and 2011, life expectancy at birth increased slightly for both males (from 76.2 to 76.3) and females (81.0 to 81.1), and for the white population (78.9 to 79.0) as a whole. The black population also increased (75.1 to 75.3), and the Hispanic population (81.4 to 81.6) and non-Hispanic black population (74.7 to 74.9) also increased.

Although causes of death changed in 2011 from 2010, life expectancy at birth for the total population did not change. Decreases in mortality from cancer, heart disease, stroke, and HIV disease were offset by increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, Influenza and pneumonia, suicide, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.

Decreases in mortality from cancer, heart disease, stroke, and HIV disease generated an increase in life expectancy among the male population. This increase in life expectancy for males was offset somewhat by increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, Influenza and pneumonia, suicide, and congenital malformations.

Similarly, the increase in life expectancy for the female population was mainly brought about by decreases in mortality for heart disease, cancer, and stroke. For females, however, the increase in life expectancy was offset by increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, influenza and pneumonia, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

The difference in life expectancy between the sexes was 4.8 years in 2011, unchanged from 2010. From 1900 to 1975, the difference in life expectancy between the sexes increased from 2.0 years to 7.8 years (Table 19). The increasing gap during these years is attributed to increases in male mortality due to ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, both of which increased largely as the result of men’s early and widespread adoption of cigarette smoking.

For a copy of the entire 2011 United States Life Table, please click here >>