Where are health care and the economy headed in 2019?
With President Trump making his State of the Union address this week, this episode of the "Where Did You Get This Number?" podcast takes a "by the numbers" look at where America stands on two issues that are top concerns in the polls: health care and the economy.
Host Anthony Salvanto takes you through the latest CBS News polling on where Americans think the state of the country is — and why they think things are heading in the wrong direction despite saying the economy is so good.
When it comes to health care, there are many questions to explore: Why isn't U.S. life expectancy increasing? How do chronic diseases affect our health care system?
Salvanto interviews CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook to break down the big trends affecting Americans' health and the U.S. health care system. He notes that average U.S. life expectancy had been on the increase, but then saw a slight decline in 2015 and 2016.
That was "really the first time in decades that it had dropped two years in a row," LaPook said. "Drug addiction, opioids and suicides are a major contributor."
He also discusses the health care system's inefficiencies and notes that "whatever the solution is, it's got to work for everybody and hopefully there'll be better communication," LaPook said. "Then we can get to a next system of coverage."
On the stock market front, investors have had a wild ride of late, with the market up in January coming off the worst decline in 10 years at the end of 2018.
So, what do experts expect in the financial markets in the coming months? What does China's economy have to do with the average U.S. consumer?
Hope King, an anchor at financial news network Cheddar TV, helps listeners break down the numbers that market-movers and top investors are looking at now. King notes that financial sentiments are mixed, with unemployment near 50-year lows and great labor participation rates, but also a lot of uncertainty around monetary policy and slowing global economic growth.
"I think those are factors that no one can control for that companies have to figure out how to manage their companies through," King said. "If we know anything about the markets, volatility is the result of uncertainty, and that's certainly what we're seeing right now."
King also explains how uncertainty in the domestic and global markets impacts the average consumer and could affect their confidence about the broader economy.
To hear more of our discussions on U.S. health care and the economy, listen to the "Where Did You Get This Number?" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every other Monday.
Producers: Oscar Gonzalez, Allen Peng
Host: Anthony Salvanto
Twitter: @WDYGTN
