Open AccessCould inequality in health be cured by universal coverage for all citizens?
Author(s) -
Lungen M.,
Siegel M.,
Lauterbach K. W.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1742-1241
pISSN - 1368-5031
DOI - 10.1111/j.1742-1241.2010.02487.x
Subject(s) - health care , unemployment , medicine , inequality , social inequality , population , social determinants of health , health policy , health equity , economic growth , environmental health , economics , mathematical analysis , mathematics
International audienceThe well documented social gradient in health in the developed world will not just disappear on its own. Tackling health inequalities by introducing a universal coverage healthcare system recently became an important notion in the U.S. Using cross-sectional data from Germany which has maintained its compulsory egalitarian healthcare system for more than fifty years now, we apply logistic and negative binomial regression to uncover utilization behavior patterns under universal coverage. We find that lower education and unemployment raise the risks for all diseases under consideration. Unemployment increases the chance of contacting a physician, while income and education do apparently not affect the healthcare utilization behavior. Those diseases concentrated among unemployed and less educated, however, are associated with intensified healthcare utilization. We conclude that universal coverage may make access to healthcare easier for those facing the worst health; the unemployed and lower educated