Significant and persistent health inequality indicates that, by raising the health levels of those with lower incomes or less education, massive strides could be made in improving populations’ overall health. This may require reshaping the welfare system to some extent, but the payoff would be well worth the effort.
平等获得卫生医疗是不够的。降低健康结果的不平等性需要加强对较低社会经济地位患者的卫生措施，解决他们特殊的需要和挑战。比如，烟草税——该税种极大影响较低收入群体——应该被用于定向于弱势吸烟群体的戒烟支持项目。