ANTIGOVERNMENT SENTIMENT AND SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO CARE - ARE THEY INCOMPATIBLE

Objectives. Attitudes toward-universal access to medical care were exa mined to determine whether support for it among people opposed to gove rnment involvement in health care was modified by three proxy measures of self-interest: being uninsured, in poor health, or a high user of medical care. Methods. Data on support for universal access, attitudes toward government involvement in health care, and the indicators of s elf-interest were obtained from a representative sample of adult Oklah omans (n = 1547) surveyed between October 1992 and December 1994. Forc ed-order multiple regression with interaction terms-was the data analy sis technique. Results. People opposed to government involvement in he alth care were found to be less likely to favor universal access to me dical care, but poor health, lack of insurance, and high usage of medi cal care moderated this effect. Conclusions The findings support the v iew that antigovernment sentiment need not foreclose the public option for health policymakers. Other considerations such as self-interest m ay modify the effect of unfavorable attitudes toward government.