{"id":10459,"date":"2019-07-26T09:30:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T14:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/democrats-differ-over-best-way-to-provide-health-coverage-for-all-americans\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T01:19:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T06:19:28","slug":"democrats-differ-over-best-way-to-provide-health-coverage-for-all-americans","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/07\/26\/democrats-differ-over-best-way-to-provide-health-coverage-for-all-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats differ over best way to provide health coverage for all Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the next round of the Democratic presidential debates approaches, Democrats are largely united in the belief that the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage. However, they are internally divided over how this should be achieved.<\/p>\n\n

Overall, 53% of Americans say it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have health care coverage, while 44% say the government does not have this responsibility. The share saying the government is responsible for ensuring all Americans have health care coverage has declined from 60% in September 2018.<\/p>\n\n

\"Democrats,<\/figure>\n\n

Republicans and Democrats continue to hold opposing views on whether or not it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure health care coverage. While about eight-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (81%) say the federal government has a responsibility to make sure all Americans have health coverage, a similar share of Republicans and Republican leaners (77%) say the government does not<\/em> have this responsibility.<\/p>\n\n

Those who say the government is responsible for making sure all Americans have health coverage are divided over how health insurance should be provided. While 27% of adults support a single national government program, a similar share (24%) say universal health care should be provided through a mix of private insurance companies and government programs.<\/p>\n\n

Among all Democrats and Democratic leaners, 44% say health insurance should be provided through a single national insurance system and 34% say it should be provided through a mix of private companies and government programs.<\/p>\n\n

\"Icon<\/div>\n\t\t

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While Republicans overwhelmingly say it is not the government\u2019s responsibility to ensure health coverage for all, most (64%) say the government \u201cshould continue to provide programs like Medicare and Medicaid for seniors and the very poor.\u201d Only 12% of Republicans say the government should not be involved at all in providing health insurance.<\/p>\n\n

Democrats ideologically divided on how health insurance should be provided<\/h4>\n\n

Wide majorities of Democrats and Democratic leaners across demographic groups say the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have health care coverage. However, there are sizable ideological differences over how health coverage should be provided.<\/p>\n\n

\"Majority<\/figure>\n\n

A majority of liberal Democrats (57%) say the government has a responsibility to ensure health coverage for all and<\/em> that it should be provided through a \u201csingle national health insurance system run by the government,\u201d while 25% say insurance should be provided \u201cthrough a mix of private insurance companies and government programs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Conservative and moderate Democrats are more divided: 42% favor a mix of government and private programs, while 33% favor a single government program.<\/p>\n\n

About half of Democratic adults under age 50 (51%) say they would prefer a single national government program, while 28% say they would prefer a health care system with a mixture of government-run and private insurance programs.<\/p>\n\n

By comparison, only about a third of Democrats ages 50 and older (35%) express a preference for a single national government program, while a slightly greater share (41%) say they would prefer a mixed system.<\/p>\n\n

On balance, white Democrats are more likely to prefer a single government program to provide health insurance for all Americans over a mix of private insurance and government programs (47% vs. 32%). Black Democrats are roughly evenly split in their preferences: 38% back a single government program and 36% prefer a mix of government and private programs.<\/p>\n\n

Shifting views on government\u2019s responsibility to provide health coverage for all<\/h4>\n\n

In 2014, the public was divided over the role of the government in the health care system \u2013 47% said the government was responsible for making sure all Americans have health care coverage, while 50% said it was not. The public subsequently grew more supportive of the government ensuring that all Americans had health care coverage. Since last fall, however, there has been a 7 percentage point drop (from 60% to 53%) in the share of Americans who say this.<\/p>\n\n

\"Narrower<\/figure>\n\n

The share of Republicans and Republican leaners holding the view that ensuring health care coverage is the government\u2019s responsibility has decreased by 9 points since September 2018, from 29% to 20%. Democratic views have not changed significantly over the past year \u2013 in September 2018, 85% said making sure all Americans have health care coverage was the federal government\u2019s responsibility; 81% say this today.<\/p>\n\n

Note: See full topline results<\/a> and methodology<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While Democrats broadly say the government has a responsibility to ensure health care coverage for all Americans, they are divided over how to achieve this. 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