Ensured health insurance? Smash. Government-run coverage? Pass.

Most US adults believe it’s the federal government’s responsibility to make sure that all people have healthcare coverage—but they also think that Washington officials shouldn’t get into the business of providing health insurance.

That’s the latest takeaway from Gallup’s 2022 annual health and healthcare poll. And the nuanced finding is largely on par with respondent opinions reported to the national pollster in recent years.

The findings: Almost six in 10 US adults surveyed (57%) told Gallup that the federal government should ensure healthcare coverage. A similar majority (53%) also said they prefer that the US healthcare system be based on private—not government-run—insurance.

Since 2015, more than half of the respondents have consistently said it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure healthcare coverage (and before that, from 2000–2008, this figure was steadily around 60%), according to Gallup’s trend data. Meanwhile, preference among respondents for a private insurance-based health system has hovered above 50% for much of the last decade—only dipping below that to 48% in 2017.

Respondents who identified as Democrats were more likely than those who identified as Republicans to say it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure people in the US have healthcare coverage (88% to 28%, respectively). Respondents who identified as Democrats were also more likely than their Republican counterparts to prefer a government-run healthcare system (72% to 13%, respectively).

Methodology: Gallup polled at least 1,000 adults living in all 50 states (and Washington, DC) via phone from Nov. 9–Dec. 2, 2022.