Obama's Legacy: More Americans than Ever Reject Government Role in Health Care

In a stunning reversal, a new Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans (56 percent) do not think it is the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health coverage. The new poll reports that just seven years earlier, the American majority (69 percent) had the opposite view, believing that government was responsible for ensuring all American have health care.

The public’s shift from giving government a greater health care role started before President Obama’s first term. It picked up steam with an all-time high this year as Obamacare—the President’s signature domestic legislation—has largely botched its much-hyped rollout.

Interestingly, attitudes across three partisan groups, Democrats, Republicans, and independents, have all moved away from the idea that health care coverage is the federal government’s proper role, Gallup reports. Today, 86 percent of Republicans, 55 percent of independents, and 30 percent of Democrats believe the government should not be involved with health care. Gallup predicts Obamacare’s implementation will continue to drive the public’s perceptions about U.S. health policy:
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