Estimating the Size of the Uninsured and Other Vulnerable Populations in a Local Area

1
Estimating the Size of the Uninsured and Other
Vulnerable Populations in a Local Area

• Lynn A. Blewett, Ph.D.
• Timothy Beebe, Ph.D.

2
Estimating the Size of the Uninsured Populations
at the Local Level

• Do your own survey
• - To directly measure health insurance coverage
  and rates of uninsurance
• Use existing available data to
• Develop proxy measures of uninsurance
• Develop statistical model-based estimates

3
Direct Measures National Data

• Three surveys provide state-level estimates of
  health insurance coverage.
• Current Population Survey (CPS) Census
• Medical Expenditure Panel (Employer) Survey
  Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) Agency for
  Healthcare Research and Quality
• State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey
  (SLAITS) National Center for Health Statistics

4
Direct Measures State Data

• 37 States have developed and fielded their own
  state household survey to estimate levels of
  health insurance coverage
• Many funded by the federal Health Resources
  Services and Administration State Planning Grant
  Program
• Typically have larger sample size and some
  regional/county estimates of coverage

5
Proxy Measures

• Use an available measure to serve as a proxy for
  health insurance coverage
• Example self-pay variable from hospital
  administrative records to estimate local levels
  of uninsurance

6
Model-Based Approach

• Predicts health insurance coverage using one or
  more variables correlated with health insurance
  coverage
• Example correlation between state unemployment
  and uninsurance and applying this at local level

7
National Model-Based Estimates

• Small-Area Estimation
• Census and AHRQ are both working on sophisticated
  models to provide state and local area estimates
• CPS Uninsurance
• MEPS-IC Employment offer and take up rates

8
Overview of Approaches for Estimating Number
of Uninsured At the Local Level
9
Contact Information
www.shadac.org 2221 University Avenue, Suite 345
Minneapolis Minnesota 55414
[phone]
Principal Investigator Lynn Blewett, Ph.D.
blewe001_at_umn.edu Co-Principal Investigator
Kathleen Call, Ph.D. callx001_at_umn.edu Center
Director Kelli Johnson, M.B.A.
johns706_at_umn.edu Senior Research Associate
Timothy Beebe, Ph.D. beebe002_at_umn.edu Research
Associate Michael Davern, Ph.D. daver004_at_umn.edu