More Americans believe health care is the government’s responsibility. MAGA is looking to end federal programs

The highest percentage of Americans in over a decade, 62 percent, now say that it’s the government’s job to make sure that all Americans have access to health care, according to a Gallup poll. 

In 2013, during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that number was down to 42 percent. Back in 2006, it stood at 69 percent.

The annual Health and Healthcare survey was conducted between November 6 and 20. That same poll found that fewer Americans are rating U.S. health care coverage and quality in a positive way.

From 2000 until 2008, majorities of Americans thought that the government should make sure that everyone had access to health care. During the presidency of Barack Obama and the passage of the Affordable Care Act, that number fell as more people opposed the government playing a bigger part in American health care.

According to Gallup, in 2009, Americans were divided on whether the government should be in charge of ensuring health care for everyone. Between 2012 and 2014, a majority of Americans thought that the government shouldn’t play that role as support decreased among independents and Republicans.

Toward the end of Obama’s time in the White House, public opinion once again moved towards the view that the government should take on responsibility for health care. Since then, this has been the main view among Americans.

Recently, more Republicans and independents have begun to see government as responsible for health care. In 2020, 22 percent of Republicans held this view compared to 32 percent today. Similarly, the number of independents who believe this is up six points to 65 percent.

Among Democrats, most have consistently viewed health care as a government responsibility. Ninety percent of Democrats now believe that government should ensure health care access for all — the highest percentage ever measured by Gallup.

In 2001 and 2004, 44 percent of Republicans said that government should take charge of health care, while in 2006 and 2007, 71 percent of independents said the same.

Gallup also measured the support for a government-operated health care system in the U.S., such as in Canada, the U.K., and elsewhere. Forty-six percent of Americans said the U.S. should have a government-run health care system while 49 percent said the system should be based on private insurance.

Americans haven’t been so evenly divided since 2017. They have mostly supported a system with private insurance, with majorities as large as 61 percent.

The newfound belief in government health care comes as some Republicans are getting ready to push for cutting government spending on health care programs such as Obamacare and Medicaid.

Fifty-four percent of Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act, Gallup found. However, experts note that President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress may take aim at Medicaid and Obamacare to pay for lower taxes.

Trump and the Republicans are looking at renewing 4 trillion in tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are due to sunset at the end of next year.

The president-elect has already said that he won’t cut Medicare and Social Security and it’s also considered unlikely that he would cut spending on defense.

“That means almost half of federal spending would be protected from cuts, leaving Medicaid, which is the next largest source of federal spending, and the ACA as prime targets for spending cuts. The math is inescapable,” the executive vice president for health policy at KFF, previously the Kaiser Family Foundation, Larry Levitt, wrote recently for JAMA. 

However, Trump has backtracked on his previous promises to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act.

The highest rating of support for Obamacare came in 2017 at 55 percent, shortly after Trump, who was president at the time, failed to repeal and replace the legislation. Gallup began asking about the ACA in 2012.

"The Affordable Care Act is still politically divisive, but overall more popular with the public than ever," Levitt told CBS. "It’s unlikely Republicans will try to repeal the ACA again, but cuts to the ACA and Medicaid are quite possible if Republicans are looking to pay for tax cuts."

During his one and only debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to replace the ACA. It’s unclear if he has further details to share on what that would look like.

“Obamacare stinks,” he recently told NBC. “If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else and I’d do something about it.”

Asked when he will have a more detailed plan, the president-elect said, “Well, I don’t know that you’ll see it at all.”