TL;DR: While slowdowns in improvements at older ages are important to understand, the within-US counterfactual approach partly reflects the fact that rapid gains at older ages are no longer counterbalancing the longer standing mortality stagnation at middle-ages. 2/3

An international comparison tells a different story, where mortality at working ages still drives diffs b/t the US & other countries. We offer this as a different lens & hope both pieces of work move us towards a better understanding of the troubling trends in US mortality. 3/3.