ABSTRACT
The provision of medical care has become inextricably intertwined with government, whether one has a health service under public management, as in the United Kingdom, or subject to public subsidy and regulation, as in the United States. The customs and traditions of government relations between government agencies, as well as between government and private groups, provide a predetermined context for the developing role of government in medical care. In the 1970s, health services are regarded as a necessary part of the British fabric of life, and the government role is to provide them. In the United States, a system originally distinguished by decentralized private controls is moving to one with a much firmer government relationship. Some scholars are using the phrase "contract state" to describe changing relationships between government and private groups in both Britain and the United States. National government's role in medical care in Britain began as a dominating force, but has lessened by the late 1970s.
