Abstract

In most countries in the global north, social differences in health status and disease prevalence and outcomes are persistent and growing. This is also the case in the welfare states of Scandinavia. In Denmark, the empirical point of departure for this article, income inequality is relatively low and social mobility is generally considered to be high. One of the ideals of the Danish welfare state is that all citizens have free and open access to the tax-funded health-care system. All Danish citizens can register at a general practice, which serves as the gatekeeper for more specialized health-care...