[What determines public-private choice in Spanish healthcare?]

The aim of the study was to analyze, which individual characteristics (sociodemographic, attitudinal and political factors) mediates in the choice in Spain in 2022, of a private versus public health care alternative for family doctor, doctor specialist, hospital admissions and emergencies.

Using the health barometers of the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS), we carried out four logistic regressions (then, average marginal effects [AMEs]) whose dependent variables are the preference for a private choice of family doctor versus a public one, the preference for a private choice of doctor specialist versus a public one; the preference for a private choice of hospital admission versus a public one and the preference for a private choice of emergency admission versus a public one. The dependent variables are binary (1=private; 0=public). The sample consisted of more than 4,500 individuals older than 18years old distributed representatively throughout Spain.

The probability of choosing private rather than public is correlated with the age of the individual: those over 50years are less likely to opt for a private alternative (P<.01), as well as by ideology and satisfaction with the way that the national health system (NHS) works. Patients with a conservative ideology are more likely to choose private options (P<.01) and individuals with greater satisfaction with the NHS are less likely to choose private ones (P<.01).

Satisfaction with the NHS and patient ideology are the most relevant factors for private versus public choice.