Journal of health economics
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The public health care systems in the Nordic countries provide high quality care almost free of charge to all citizens. However, social inequalities in health persist. ⋯ We investigate to what extent this may be driven by differential access to and utilization of high quality treatment options. Quasi-experimental evidence based on the establishment of regional cancer wards indicates that (i) highly educated individuals utilized centralized specialized treatment to a greater extent than less educated patients and (ii) the use of such treatment improved these patients' survival.