[jakobsen]

>I suspect (and would like to see the stats) that the USA has a higher mortality rate below age 40 than other western countries but that it levels out after that

The USA has a lower than average life expectancy at age 65, and the life expectancy has also grown less than average for that group, according to the OECD[1]

EDIT: >But is life expectancy the end all and be all I agree there. The same document includes a "healthy life years at age 65" (only for European countries though), but it is arguably a much less objective measurement and hence less useful.

[1] http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8111101ec066...