Payment of Medical Providers and the Public Provision of Medical Care

In all countries, governments provide assistance to citizens in paying for medical services. The form of this assistance varies widely, from full public provision (financing) and public production, in some countries, to subsidies to private insurance purchases for non-poor persons combined with public provision and/or production for poor persons, in others. In all cases the public sector has the ability to influence the quantities and the prices paid for medical services. Direct governmental control of or influence on prices paid to providers is not utilized in all circumstances, but such control or influence is almost always possible.