Majority of Americans want government and private insurance in healthcare

Americans have a "yes, but" view of the government's role in healthcare. The majority say the federal government should ensure that all Americans have coverage, but prefer a system based on private insurance. 

The finding comes from a new Gallup poll, released Jan. 23. Gallup has tracked the public's views on government-run healthcare since 2000. The latest findings come from telephone interviews conducted with 1,020 adults representative of every U.S. state.

Some key poll findings: 

1. Is it the responsibility of the federal government to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage? Fifty-seven percent of respondents said yes; 40 percent said no. 

2. Answers vary starkly among political affiliations, with 88 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republicans seeing healthcare coverage as a governmental responsibility. 

3. Fifty-three percent of Americans prefer a healthcare system based on private insurance, while 43 percent prefer a government-run system. 

4. Democrats and Republicans have dramatically different views on private- versus government-run healthcare. The percentage of Republicans preferring private insurance has not fallen below 79 percent in 13 years. At the same time, between 52 percent (in 2013) and 77 percent (in 2021) of Democrats have preferred a government-run system.

5. "Notably, Democrats are more unified in their belief that government is responsible for ensuring all Americans have healthcare than in wanting a true public health system," Gallup wrote. "Conversely, Republicans are more unified against such medical care than they are against the idea that it is government's job to make sure no American goes without healthcare."

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