Results from the Survey of Health Insurance and Program Participation

• Activity Number: 349
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, July 31, 2012 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Joanna Turner*+ and Brett Fried and Joanne Pascale and Michel Boudreaux and Kathleen Call
• Companies: University of Minnesota, SHADAC and University of Minnesota, SHADAC and U.S. Census Bureau and University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota
• Keywords: health insurance coverage ; CPS ASEC ; ACS ; SHIPP

Abstract

In March 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau conducted a large-scale field test of three alternative sets of questions for obtaining information on health insurance coverage. The Survey of Health Insurance and Program Participation (SHIPP) was a split-ballot design with sample from a Random Digit Dial frame and Medicare enrollment files. The SHIPP contained three panels comparing health insurance coverage questions from: the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), the American Community Survey, and an experimental set of questions for the CPS ASEC designed to reduce measurement error. We collaborate with the Census Bureau to develop a strategy for combining the sample frames and expand on the analysis conducted by Pascale (2012). With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act understanding how respondents answer questions about their health insurance coverage is vital for monitoring the impact of the law. The SHIPP provides a unique opportunity to compare estimates from the same sample across surveys and provides valuable insight for modifications to the questions. Using the merged data across the panels we contrast responses to these coverage items