There's a world of difference between Americans and the rest of the planet on the question of the government paying for health insurance-but the gap is even bigger within the U.S. between Democrats and Republicans.

Americans, to a striking degree, are less inclined than citizens of other countries to say that the "government" should be responsible for providing health-care coverage, according to data compiled for CNBC and Burson-Marsteller by market research firm Penn Schoen Berland.

When asked, just 37 percent of people in the United States said that's the government's job.

While that was the top single answer, a total of 50 percent said that insurance is either the responsibility of "individuals" or of "corporations."

In contrast, an average of 65 percent of people in other developed countries said health insurance should be provided by their governments.

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And an even stronger majority gave that answer in countries with emerging economies-an average of 72 percent.

The disparity in the results didn't surprise health-care experts, who said that they underscore both cultural differences and the difference between the health-coverage system of the U.S. and most of the rest of the world.

"I think it reflects the fact that they have a national health-care system," said Kaiser Family Foundation president Drew Altman, referring to the other countries whose residents overwhelmingly believe it's the responsibility of governments to provide their coverage. In contrast, the U.S. does not have a national health-care system.

"It also reflects a societal decision-the societal decision to provide health care for everyone," Altman said of the other countries.

He said Americans' response to the question specifically about health care is reflective of their overall views about government.

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"We've always had, as a country, a love-hate relationship with government," Altman said. "We want the services it delivers, but we want a smaller government. There's a tension in this country between the sense of communal obligation and a fierce sense of personal responsibility."

"And where do you see that tension expressed more strongly than in health care?" asked Altman.

Altman said he believes that the passage and the adoption in recent years of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, has accentuated the split between Americans who favor a larger role for government overall and those who oppose that idea. He also said public opinion on the ACA is often not based on actual details of the law, which often poll well individually, but reflect how people view President Obama and government generally.

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"The debate about Obamacare isn't a debate about Obamacare," he said. "The health law has become a proxy for a larger debate about, yes, the president, but also about the role of government."

The Penn Schoen Berland poll , which did not ask about Obamacare by name, found a distinct split between Democrats and Republicans on the question of who should provide health insurance. Just 17 percent of self-identified Republicans in the survey said they believed government should provide such coverage. But 57 percent of Democrats gave that answer.

Conversely, only 17 percent of Democrats said individuals should be responsible for their health insurance. But 42 percent of Republicans gave that answer.

The poll found that young adults, those 18 to 34 years old, were much more likely to believe government should pay for health insurance, with 47 percent of those younger people giving that answer.



However, adults 65 years or older were essentially no more likely to believe it was the government's responsibility to provide health insurance than adults between the ages of 35 and 64. A total of 34 percent of those senior citizens named government when asked the question, compared to around 33 percent for other adults older than age 34.

That result stands out because U.S. adults who hit age 65 are automatically eligible for Medicare-the federal government health insurance program for the elderly.

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David Squires, a researcher for the Commonwealth Fund, said he's not surprised that seniors are not necessarily more likely to support government-sponsored health insurance for everyone, because they likely view Medicare differently than something like Obamacare.

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