Does socioeconomic status influence utilization of health care services in a single-payer universal health care system?

Abstract

Background A significant corpus of research shows that socio-economic status (SES) affects utilization patterns of health care services. The influence of health care services’ utilization on health inequalities is obviously greater in countries where health care services are mostly privatized. Yet, there is empirical evidence that even in countries with a developed public health care sector, SES influences utilization of health care services. However, the evidence is contradictory. Methods We assessed the evolution of SES influence on …