The relationship between accounting information and the performance of supplementary health care providers

Abstract

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between accounting information and the performance of supplementary health care providers (OPS) based on economic and financial indicators. The study assessed operational, liquidity, profitability, and capital structure indicators in addition to the influence of the size and type of provider on the Supplementary Health Performance Index (IDSS), which is a proxy for the OPS performance. Methodology: First, factor analysis was carried out on 18 economic-financial indicators of 568 OPS, which resulted in five factors (operational, liquidity, profitability, capital structure, and size). Finally, a model was developed in which ordinary least squares (MQO) and TOBIT regressions were applied to explain the IDSS, as a function of the five calculated factors plus four dummy variables for the types of OPS. Results: The results showed that the OPS data and economic-financial indicators are jointly relevant to explain the IDSS, indicating that the accounting information can portray aspects of the supplementary health sector, which go beyond the purely financial dimension. Contributions of the Study: The study contributes to the literature by bringing strong evidence that OPS accounting information is important to explain part of the supplementary health sector’s economic environment, surpassing by more than twice its own informational content in the IDSS, which highlights the usefulness and relevance of such information to users of OPS.