Business Executives oppose more government in health care, survey shows
| Executives oppose more government in health care, survey shows |
|
| Tuesday, August 25, 2009 | |
|
Most executives do not support health-care reform that increases government participation, according to a new survey conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. “Results from the survey are particularly interesting because the primary respondents are executives in small- and medium-sized business, a group that had been identified as potential beneficiaries of health-care reform,” said Mark Lang, an accounting professor at Kenan-Flagler. “While they identify health-care costs as a major concern, fears of a rising deficit and increased regulation appear to outweigh benefits of governmental involvement.” The AICPA-Kenan-Flagler study found: • Only 12 percent of CPA executives indicate that the government should be a major participant in health-care reform; • 26 percent feel it should only be a limited participant; and • 46 percent feel that governmental involvement should be reduced Of respondents, 92 percent offer subsidized health care to employees and only 2 percent have considered dropping it, yet the majority support mandatory health-care coverage by employees. Most have been using some combination of increased employee contribution and reduced benefits to deal with rising health-care costs. “Most executives appear to have found mechanisms for coping with rising health-care costs, and they view the potential downside of governmental involvement outweighs any benefits, particularly in these difficult economic times,” Lang said. “Given that small and medium businesses are the likely drivers of the nascent economic recovery, their perspectives on health-care reform seems particularly relevant to debate.” Lang is the Thomas W. Hudson, Jr./Deloitte and Touche L.L.P. Distinguished Professor of Accounting at Kenan-Flagler. The survey is part of the third quarter Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey, which was conducted via an online questionnaire from July 22-Aug. 9, 2009, and included 1,093 CPAs who hold leadership positions as chief executives, chief operating officers, chief financial officers or controllers. The overall margin of error was plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. Kenan-Flagler Business School is known for innovative research and extraordinary learning experiences. Its commitment to developing socially responsible, results-driven leaders distinguishes its programs, which educate people at every stage of their careers. Kenan-Flagler prepares business leaders to manage successfully in the global business environment through its master of accounting, master of business administration, MBA for executives, undergraduate bachelor of science of business administration, doctoral and executive development programs. The Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise helps business and government tackle problems with impact on society. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national, professional association of CPAs, with more than 360,000 CPA members in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates, and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, nonprofit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination. The AICPA publishes the Web site www.IFRS.com to inform members and the public about international accounting standards. The AICPA maintains offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Durham, N.C.; Ewing, N.J.; and Lewisville, Texas. Web site: More information and full poll results are available on the AICPA Financial Management Center Web site at http://fmcenter.aicpa.org/ American Institute of Certified Public Accountants contact: William Roberts, (202) 434-9266, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Kenan-Flagler Business School contact: Allison Adams, (919) 962-7235, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |