Looking for better health in all the wrong places: the road to "equality" hits a dead end.

The actual evidence base for measures of health inequality among the elderly in the United States remains rather thin. Addressing the real causes of health inequalities will require measuring what matters, accounting for the time lags and non-health-care factors behind the development of future health conditions and outcomes, and setting better priorities and targets. An early intervention strategy should focus more on future generations of elderly Americans when they are young.