Consider the following. This year, public trust – or the percentage of people calling an industry “generally honest” – has either declined or remained at the 2003 nadir for all three health-related industries. But so has the demand for more regulation. The numbers of Americans that want more government oversight of pharmaceuticals (48%, down 9 points since 2003), health insurers (48%, down 11 points), and HMOs (41%, down 19 points) appear to be down – and down sharply.

So, it’s a neat equation to say that the less they trust you, the more they want to regulate you (and vice versa), but it doesn’t hold in this case.

Americans continue to lose trust in the health care industry, but they are lightening up on regulation. Of course, poor marks for trust do mean that building bridges with the public should be prioritized. But, a softening call for regulation may also mean that people want a lot more than trust from health care players these days. One has to ask if faster, easier access to the latest developments and freer competition among providers could also be factors.