Gallup Poll: American Majority Against Government Healthcare Guarantee

Not a good sign with ObamaCare implementation due by 2014.

For the first time in Gallup trends since 2000, a majority of Americans say it is not the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. Prior to 2009, a majority always felt the government should ensure healthcare coverage for all, though Americans’ views have become more divided in recent years.

The shift away from the view that the government should ensure healthcare coverage for all began shortly after President Barack Obama’s election and has continued the past several years during the discussions and ultimate passage of the Affordable Care Act in March 2010. Americans are divided on that legislation today — 48% approve and 45% disapprove — as they have been over the last several years.

Republicans, including Republican-leaning independents, are mostly responsible for the drop since 2007 in Americans’ support for government ensuring universal health coverage. In 2007, 38% of Republicans thought the government should do so; now, 12% do. Among Democrats and Democratic leaners there has been a much smaller drop, from 81% saying the government should make sure all Americans are covered in 2007 to 71% now.

One thing that has not changed is that Americans still widely prefer a system based on private insurance to one run by the government. Currently, 57% prefer a private system and 36% a government-run system, essentially the same as in 2010 and 2011. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the percentage of Americans in favor of a government-run system ranged from 32% to 41%.

I think folks see that the costs will be tremendous and the government healthcare system bureaucratic and intrusive.

America continues as a right-center country where self-reliance is more innate than not.

Redistribution is not the American way and that is reflected in this poll.

Over the next few years, the U.S. healthcare system will undergo significant changes as more parts of the Affordable Care Act go into effect. To date, the passage of the law has not led to a major transformation in U.S. healthcare attitudes, apart from the shift away from the view that the government should ensure all Americans have healthcare.

However, this year’s Health and Healthcare poll could signal the beginning of somewhat less negative views of the U.S. healthcare system. Americans have always been positive about the quality of healthcare they receive. Though they remain more negative than positive about healthcare coverage, Americans’ opinions are trending toward a more positive view of health coverage. Americans remain broadly dissatisfied with U.S. healthcare costs, and it is unclear at this point whether the healthcare reforms will significantly reduce U.S. healthcare costs once the law is fully implemented.