---
title: "Government Guaranteed Health Care"
description: "Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) favor a government guarantee of universal health insurance, even if it means raising taxes. "
date: "2008-09-19"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2008/09/19/government-guaranteed-health-care/"
---

# Government Guaranteed Health Care

Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) favor a government guarantee of universal health insurance, even if it means raising taxes; 34% are opposed. Democrats continue to be the most supportive of government-guaranteed health insurance — 79% of Democrats, including 85% of liberal Democrats, favor it. A majority of independents (63%) and moderate and liberal Republicans (54%) also say the government should guarantee health insurance for all, even if it means raising taxes. Conservative Republicans disagree; 59% of conservative Republicans oppose government-backed insurance and just 38% favor it. Among religious groups, about half of white evangelicals (53%) favor a government guarantee of health insurance for all. Considerably larger majorities of black Protestants (66%) and Catholics (67%) favor government-funded health insurance, as do 68% of the religiously unaffiliated. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/report/?pageid=1364)