There are some interesting parallels between Russia in the post-Soviet era and some things we're seeing here.

One stat that caught my eye a couple of years ago was the declining life expectancy we're seeing, which is attributed to the Opiod crisis, which is nearly unprecedented... the other time a decline in life expectancy occurred was just after the fall of the Soviet Union, as a lot Russians
(presumably)
drank themselves to death.

This article is a little over the top on the alarmism, but it captures a lot of things we're just sort of ignoring our way through: https://eand.co/why-were-underestima...e-be04d9e55235

(Of note to LA and myself, Costa Rica, with fairly new socialized medicine, has passed the US in life expectancy.)