Most Americans trust physicians and nurses, but three-quarters of the public do not trust hospital executives, according to a new study from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The study is based on a survey conducted June 10-14 among 1,071 adults representing the 50 states and Washington, D.C. It was conducted using nonpartisan research institution NORC at the University of Chicago's Amerispeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. household population.
Six survey findings:
1. Most survey respondents said they trust physicians (70 percent), nurses (79 percent) and pharmacists (75 percent) at least most or almost all the time to do what is right for them and their families.
2. Twenty-two percent of survey respondents said they trust hospital executives at least most or almost all the time to do what is right for them and their families.
3. Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents said they believe nurses are underpaid, and 61 percent said they believe healthcare aides are underpaid.
4. Only 11 percent of survey respondents said they believe physicians are underpaid, while 50 percent said physicians are paid the right amount.
5. About 70 percent of survey respondents said they believe insurance and hospital executives are overpaid.
6. Seventeen percent of survey respondents said they support boosting physicians' pay with government funding, but 54 percent support funding to increase the number of physicians.
7. Survey respondents who support the ACA are more likely than those who oppose it to favor government funding for boosting physicians' salaries (23 percent vs. 13 percent) and increasing the number of physicians (73 percent vs. 42 percent).
Read more about the survey here.