Health Affairs ’ June Issue: Pursuing Health Equity

The June issue of Health Affairs, a theme issue, explores the pursuit of health equity and the obligations of the health care sector to achieve it. The issue examines the subject from two perspectives: equity in care, and the relationship between social factors and health equity. The issue was supported by The Kresge Foundation, The California Endowment, Aetna Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation, Episcopal Health Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. US virtually tops list of countries with highest health and health care disparities across income levels Comparing health and health care disparities in the United States to those in thirty-one other high- and middle-income countries, Joachim Hero and colleagues of Harvard University found that the United States consistently reported high disparities across self-reported health and health care measures. Using International Social Survey Programme data, the researchers found that 38.2 percent of respondents in the bottom third of US incomes reported fair or poor health, compared to 12.3 percent for those in the top third. This places the United States at the third-highest disparity rating, behind just Chile and Portugal. Additionally, 67 percent of US respondents believed that “many” people in the country do not have access to the health care they need. Fifty-four percent believed that it is unfair that people with higher incomes can afford better health care than people with lower incomes. The authors cau...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Elsewhere@ Health Affairs Health Affairs journal Source Type: blogs