Majority Against Fed Healthcare Guarantee

A majority of respondents said they don't think it's federal government's responsibility to ensure everyone have healthcare coverage, a Gallup poll indicated.

Fifty-four percent of U.S. residents asked said healthcare isn't the government's responsibility while 44 percent said it was, the first time in Gallup trends since 2000 that a majority expressed such a view, results released Wednesday indicated.

Poll results also indicated respondents remain as divided about Affordable Care Act as they have been for the past few years, with 48 percent expressing approval and 45 percent expressing disapproval.

One thing that hasn't changed since 2010 is survey respondents prefer a system based on private insurance to one run by the government. The latest poll indicated 57 percent said they prefer a private system and 36 said they prefer a government-run plan, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Survey participants said they are dissatisfied with the cost of healthcare in the United States, with 22 percent saying they are satisfied and 77 percent expressing dissatisfaction.

Forty-one percent rated U.S. healthcare coverage either excellent or good, while 58 percent said coverage is fair or poor.

Results for are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,015 adults conducted Nov. 15-18. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.