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Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH; Tamara Dubowitz, MSc, SM, ScD

JAMA. 2007;297:1118-1121.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Racial and ethnic minorities—populations who are more likely to be poor, have lower educational levels, or both—are fundamentally at greater risk of ill health than their nonminority, nonpoor, better educated peers.¹ Multiple factors, both within and outside the health care delivery system, probably explain these disparities. Health care and social factors associated with such disparities relate directly to access to care, and access to care is important because it is believed to lead to better health.

The ideals related to universal access to care might precisely be termed universal access to health, which, by definition, includes the elimination of health disparities. However, erasing disparities in health cannot be accomplished simply by achieving universal access to care; policies that affect public health and the nonmedical determinants of health are also necessary.

Access to and Quality of Care

Differential access to care is one key contributor to disparities in . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliations: RAND Center for Population Health and Health Disparities, Arlington, Va.

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