Here’s some historical data on female life expectancy in Russia:
My understanding is that the post-Soviet collapse had more to do with lifestyle factors (vodka got cheaper) than problems in the health care system. But the point, broadly speaking, would be that the dread U.S.S.R. actually did a perfectly decent job of providing the sort of goods—health care, basic education, subways, nuclear missiles, vast prison camps, satellite launch vehicles—that in most democracies are provided by the state. It did a bad job of providing things like appealing clothing, consumer electronics, popular entertainments, cars, etc. that are generally provided by the private sector. In Cuba everyone’s dirt poor and generally leave crappy lives with few goods, but the literacy rate is high and the state of public health is excellent considering the poor overall economic situation. And even in the United States, about half of health care is financed by the state—a free market approach to senior citizens would be a disaster.
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