Life expectancy in the United States rose to an all-time high, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. But that’s only half the story. The country is behind about 30 others on this measure. Though the United States has by far the highest level of health care spending per capita in the world, we have one of the lowest life expectancies among developed nations - lower than Italy, Spain and Cuba and just a smidgeon ahead of Chile, Costa Rica and Slovenia, according to the United Nations. China does almost as well as we do. Japan tops the list at 83 years. And in an era where advances in medicine and better understanding of health issues should boost life expectancy significantly, the gains announced today were modest. U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9) in 2007, the latest year for which data from death certificates has been compiled. That’s up from 77.7 in 2006. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years. In fact, U.S. life expectancy gains may be pretty much over, as some groups - particularly people in rural locations - are already stagnating or slipping, explains […]