The aim of this study was to examine differences in the level of satisfaction with medical care at a public health center between patients receiving free-care compared to those paying out-of-pocket. SERVQUAL(Comprehensive Service Quality Measurement Scale), a pyschometrically valid measure for evaluating hospital service quality, was used to assess patient satisfaction. The study sample consisted of 279 patients who received medical care at a public health center. The interview was conducted between April 23 and May 7, 1998. The results was as follow: 1. There were more elderly people among free-care patients than out-of-pocket patients. Education and income levels were lower amongs those receiving free-care. There were, however, no differences in the distribution of gender and religion between the two groups. Patients receiving free-care tended to visit the public health center more frequently compared to those self-paying patients. 2. Overall, free-care patients showed higher satisfaction level than that of self-paying patients. except for the dimension on sympathy and shape.