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The beliefs and values shaping today's health reform debate
R J Blendon1, J Marttila, J M Benson
1Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|January 1, 1994
Abstract:
Survey results show that the American public comes to the health care reform debate with ambivalent feelings and a relatively low base of specific knowledge. But Americans also hold a set of core values that will shape their response to various proposals for national change. These include (1) a moral commitment to the uninsured; (2) a desire to achieve personal peace of mind; (3) a lack of self-blame; (4) a limited willingness to sacrifice; (5) reasoned self-interest in what changes are enacted; (6) a distrust of government; and (7) a healthy cynicism about the behavior of our major institutions.