LAUSR

Good health is not, and probably never has been, equally distributed across countries and individuals. Social conditions can predict and stratify patterns in health in a population far better than any biological feature, risk factor or other variable [1]. Disadvantaged groups experience far worse health outcomes than their more affluent fellows, as, for instance, recently documented by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in a comprehensive review of social inequalities in cancer [1]. The different magnitude of health inequalities across countries and over time strongly suggests that some health systems fare better than others in supporting health for individuals, even when countries are experiencing economic downturns. Also, there is good evidence that health inequalities start in early life. Following the 2007 2008 financial crisis, Case and Deaton reported an unexpected inversion of the long-lasting increase in life expectancy in the U.S. [2]. Premature mortality in the U.S., affecting particularly white poor/middle class, was predominantly due to reasons related to social problems, e.g., increasing drug abuse and alcohol poisoning, suicide, liver disease, and was significantly exacerbated by the 2007/2008 recession [2]. In contrast, the average life expectancy in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region has continued to steadily rise from 76.7 years in 2010 to 77.8 years in 2015. The more favorable scenario in Europe is likely due to the beneficial impact of the Welfare approach to health that acted as a buffer against the decline in health of sectors of the underserved population [3]. However, despite relatively strong commitment to providing social protection (i.e., access to health care, basic income security, access to nutrition, education, care and any other necessary goods and services) for all citizens, Europe is not immune from major health inequalities either. The recent WHO “Healthy, prosperous lives for all: the European Health Equity Status Report” describes the current status of health