Demographic Differences in Support for Government Measures to Control Health Care Costs

This paper uses longitudinal data from representative samples of national and southern California populations in an analysis of public opinion regarding proposals for health care cost controls. After examining ethnicity in conjunction with sex, socioeconomic status, age and party identification, it appears that this variable has significant explanatory power. This suggests that community may be a more useful concept than class in assessing public support for various forms of national health insurance and regulatory policies.