Majority Want Government to Ensure Healthcare Coverage

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Fifty-six percent of Americans say the federal government should be responsible for making sure all Americans have healthcare coverage, up slightly from 52% last year and the highest level in 10 years.

From 2000, the year Gallup first asked the question, to 2008, a clear majority of Americans (averaging 62%) agreed with the government responsibility premise. But by November 2009, after newly elected President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats had been working for months on healthcare legislation aimed at achieving universal coverage, the percentage of Americans believing government was responsible dropped below the majority level. Agreement generally declined in the years thereafter, reaching a low of 42% in 2013.