Public views on the role of government in funding and delivering health services

Aims: Public surveys in socialized health systems indicate strong support for the role of government in health care, although different views can be detected. The study considers the public's views on public versus private funding and delivery of health services. Methods: The study is based on a representative national sample of 1532 Icelandic adults, aged 18 and older, who participated in a national public issues survey. Respondents were asked about government spending on health care and whether the government or private parties should deliver health services. Results: The great majority of respondents thought that the government should spend more on health care, and should be the primary provider of care. Lower age, female gender, countryside residence, and expected high use of health care were related to greater support for governmental funding. Furthermore, countryside residence, less education, lower income, not being a governmental health worker, expected high health care use, and left-wing political ideology were all related to greater support for governmental delivery of health care. Conclusions: Despite sociodemographic variations, the study finds strong overall support for the role of government in funding and delivering health care. Previous perspectives and hypotheses of welfare state endorsement received mixed support, suggesting that further theoretical and empirical work is needed to better account for public views on the role of government in health care.