New High: 56 Percent Say it is Not Govt’s Job to Ensure Americans Have Healthcare

Just 5 years ago
Gallup found only 28 percent of Americans thought government
did not have the responsibility to “make sure all Americans have
healthcare coverage.” However, today Gallup finds the highest
number since it began asking the question—56 percent—say government
does not have a responsibility to ensure all American have
healthcare coverage. Even a majority (55 percent) of Independents
say government does not have this responsibility. 

Source:
Gallup

Throughout much of the 2000s, a solid majority of Americans
believed it was government’s job to ensure all Americans have
healthcare coverage, hitting a high in 2006 when 69 percent agreed
while 28 percent said it was not government’s responsibility.
However, after 2006, Gallup measured a steady decline among those
who believed government should ensure healthcare for all.

By the time Congress began debating remaking the American health
care system in 2009, Americans were evenly split and remained so
until 2011.

However, once actual implementation of the Affordable Care
Act/Obamacare got underway, the public for the first time since
Gallup began asking the question diverged against government’s role
in health care. Between 2011 and 2013 the share of Americans who
believe it is not government’s job to ensure healthcare coverage
increased +10 points from 46 to 56 percent.

Not only the glitch-ridden roll out of the healthcare law
explains this results, but partisanship also. In 2000, only a slim
majority (53 percent) of Republicans believed government should
not be responsible for healthcare coverage and 42 percent
believe it did. Just 13 short years later, while also losing most
of Congress and the presidency, 86 percent of Republicans say its
not government job to ensure healthcare coverage and 12 percent say
it is. These are roughly 30-point swings in roughly a decade.