INDIANAPOLIS, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Despite concernsabout the impact of rising health care costs on their businessesand employees, only one in six employers (16.3 percent) say theyfavor a federally tax-funded universal health care system,according to the 2011 UBA Benefit Opinions Survey.

Nearly all (99.4 percent) top decision makers are concerned withthe impact of health care costs are having or are going to have ontheir overall corporate costs, according to newly released data.More than 50 percent said it is a critical concern. Just slightlyfewer (97.9 percent) are also concerned with the impact health carecosts are having on their employees, up nearly 20 percent fromthree years ago and nearly identical to last year. These resultswere consistent regardless of industry, employee size category orgeographic region. Additional findings presented in the surveyinclude:

• 96.9 percent of employers still believe a good benefits programhelps attract good employees while 93.8 percent believe goodbenefits keep employees from leaving.
• Employers are less prepared to meet the legislative andregulatory requirements placed upon them, and those requirementsare becoming increasingly complex.
• Nearly three-quarters of the employers responding felt there isa definite role for the federal government to play regardinghealth: requiring the disclosure of cost and quality information ofhospitals and physicians.

“On an encouraging note, there is a trend of employersimplementing wellness and health management strategies that theyfeel are having a positive impact on chronic conditions and theeffectiveness of these programs in general,” according to WilliamStafford, Vice President, Member Services.

The UBA 2011 Benefit Opinions Survey includes employerperspectives on Health Care Strategy, Benefits Philosophy andOpinion, Health Plan Management, Personal Health Management, Scopeof Benefits Offered and Employee Communications.

Copies of the UBA 2011 Benefit Opinions Survey are available forpurchase after May 1 by downloading the order form or through thenearest UBA Member Firm listed on the UBA website at www.UBAbenefits.com.

ABOUT THE UBA SURVEYS
The 2011 UBA BenefitOpinion Survey complements the 2010 UBA Health Plan Survey, thenation's largest comprehensive and validated survey of plan designand costs, with responses from 17,113 health plans sponsored by11,413 employers nationwide. As the largest survey of its kind, theUBA Health Plan Survey provides health plan benchmarks by a greaternumber of specific industries, regions and employer size categoriesthan is available from any other resource.

ABOUT UNITEDBENEFIT ADVISORS
United Benefit Advisors is a member-owned alliance of more than 140premier independent benefit advisory firms with offices in morethan 165 offices throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and isone of the nation's top five employee benefits advisoryorganizations. As trusted and knowledgeable advisors, UBA Memberscollaborate with more than 2,000 professionals to seek out ideas,expertise and best-in-class solutions that positively impactemployers and make a real difference in the lives of theiremployees and families. Employers, advisors and industry-relatedorganizations interested in obtaining powerful results from ourshared wisdom should visit UBA online at www.UBAbenefits.com to locate their local UBA MemberFirm