As Gallup’s Frank Newport points out, the issue is highly politicized. Most Democrats agree healthcare coverage is the government’s job; most Republicans don’t. Although most of those who bought insurance through a government exchange are satisfied, Obamacare’s overall approval is down to a record low of 37 percent amid continued partisan bickering and after a disastrous initial rollout.
Looking back two decades to Bill Clinton’s attempt at passing a healthcare plan suggests that Americans tend to like the idea of the government guaranteeing coverage in theory, but they start to change their minds when they have to face the gritty details.
In 1993, when Clinton prepared to present his own plan to enable healthcare for all, he faced a nation that supported the idea by a significant majority. In the spring of that year, 71 percent of Americans had said they approved the initial proposal. By June 1994, support had crumbled, and only 33 percent thought the proposal would be good for the country. Why? The push was a political catastrophe. The authors of a 1995 Health Affairs paper pointed to strategic mistakes (like failing to adequately consult private-sector leaders) and substantive mistakes (like proposing to use government-set limits on national and regional spending that felt to some like rationing). Opposition interest groups highlighted flaws, and middle-class Americans worried about how they would pay for expanding access.
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