Gallup: Health Insurance Not the Government's Job

October 1, 2009 11:37 AM | | Comments (1)

Most American adults think providing health insurance coverage for themselves and their families is a matter of personal responsibility, rather than a service that should be performed by the government, according to a Gallup poll taken Sept. 11-13.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said it should be a matter of personal responsibility, and 37 percent said it should be the responsibility of the federal government. Broken down by political party, Republicans (89 percent to 10 percent) and independents (64 percent to 34 percent) said it is a personal matter, but Democrats (62 percent to 35 percent) think the federal government is primarily responsible.

Gallup noted that other polls have shown differing sentiment, but the results depend on how the question is framed.

"Americans tend to agree with the government's taking responsibility for guaranteeing healthcare coverage when asked in 'yes or no' terms," Gallup said. "However, they are more libertarian on the issue when asked whether the government or individual citizens should be primarily responsible for ensuring that coverage."

The poll was based on telephone interviews with 1,030 adults nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Categories: Gallup

Tags: Health

    Comments

  1. That's almost a total reverse from 2007-08 if memory serves.

    Posted by: NObama Author Profile Page | October 1, 2009 6:43 PM

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