CMS Announces New Life Tables

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently published its 2005 United States Life Tables. Effective April 12, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin referencing the CDC's Table 1: Life table for the total population: United States, 2005, for WCMSA life expectancy calculations. This means that for any newly submitted WCMSA proposal received by CMS' Coordination of Benefits Contractor (COBC), or where any WCMSA case is reopened on or after April 12, 2010, CMS will apply the CDC's 2005 Table 1 for life expectancy calculations.

In 2005, the overall expectation of life at birth was 77.4 years, representing a decline of 0.1 years from life expectancy in 2004. From 2004 to 2005, life expectancy at birth remained the same for males (74.9), females (79.9), the white population (77.9), white males (75.4), white females (80.4), the black population (72.8), and black males (69.3). Life expectancy at birth increased for black females (from 76.0 to 76.1). Life expectancy estimates based on the revised meth­ odology are slightly lower than those based on the previous method­ ology. For 2005, life expectancy at birth based on the revised methodology was lower by 0.4 years for the total population.

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