scholarly journals Modeling a Bridge When Survey Questions Change: Evidence from the Current Population Survey Health Insurance Redesign

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-202
Author(s):  
Brett O’Hara ◽  
Carla Medalia ◽  
Jerry J. Maples

Abstract Most research on health insurance in the United States uses the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. However, a recent redesign of the health insurance questions disrupted the historical time trend in 2013. Using data from the American Community Survey, which has a parallel trend in the uninsured rate, we model a bridge estimate of the uninsured rate using the traditional questions. Also, we estimate the effect of changing the questionnaire. We show that the impact of redesigning the survey varies substantially by subgroup. This approach can be used to produce bridge estimates when other questionnaires are redesigned.

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755872110008
Author(s):  
Edward R. Berchick ◽  
Heide Jackson

Estimates of health insurance coverage in the United States rely on household-based surveys, and these surveys seek to improve data quality amid a changing health insurance landscape. We examine postcollection processing improvements to health insurance data in the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), one of the leading sources of coverage estimates. The implementation of updated data extraction and imputation procedures in the CPS ASEC marks the second stage of a two-stage improvement and the beginning of a new time series for health insurance estimates. To evaluate these changes, we compared estimates from two files that introduce the updated processing system with two files that use the legacy system. We find that updates resulted in higher rates of health insurance coverage and lower rates of dual coverage, among other differences. These results indicate that the updated data processing improves coverage estimates and addresses previously noted limitations of the CPS ASEC.


ILR Review ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Funkhouser ◽  
Stephen J. Trejo

Using data from special supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS), the authors track the education and hourly earnings of recent male immigrants to the United States. In terms of these measures of labor market skills, the CPS data suggest that immigrants who came in the late 1980s were more skilled than those who arrived earlier in the decade. This pattern represents a break from the steady decline in immigrant skill levels observed in 1940–80 Census data. Despite the encouraging trend over the 1980s, however, the average skills of recent immigrants remain low by historical standards.


Author(s):  
Heide Jackson ◽  
Edward R. Berchick

In 2019, the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement introduced updates to data processing, including to the imputation of health insurance for cases with no reported health insurance information. This article examines the impact on health insurance estimates of modernized imputation procedures that were part of a redesign of the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. We use descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic regression to examine whether imputation biases estimates of health insurance coverage using data from the 2017 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which used legacy methods, and the 2017 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Research File, which debuted the processing redesign. We find that cases with all of their health insurance information imputed using legacy methods were more likely to be uninsured or to be covered by multiple insurance types after adjusting for factors associated with having missing data. With the processing updates, fully imputed cases do not differ from other cases in their likelihood of being uninsured, having private coverage, having public coverage, or in having private and public coverage. Processing updates in the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement improved data quality by increasing the percent of people with any health insurance coverage and decreasing the percent of people with multiple types of coverage, especially among fully imputed cases.


2021 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 312-316
Author(s):  
Catherine Buffington ◽  
Jason Fields ◽  
Lucia Foster

We provide an overview of Census Bureau activities to enhance the consistency, timeliness, and relevance of our data products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We highlight new data products designed to provide timely and granular information on the pandemic's impact: the Small Business Pulse Survey, weekly Business Formation Statistics, the Household Pulse Survey, and Community Resilience Estimates. We describe pandemic-related content introduced to existing surveys such as the Annual Business Survey and the Current Population Survey. We discuss adaptations to ensure the continuity and consistency of existing data products such as principal economic indicators and the American Community Survey.


2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 483-497
Author(s):  
Weiwei Chen ◽  
Timothy F. Page

High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) have become increasingly prevalent among employer-sponsored health plans and plans offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace in the United States. This study examined the impact of deductible levels on health care experiences in terms of care access, affordability, routine checkup, out-of-pocket cost, and satisfaction using data from the Health Reform Monitoring Survey. The study also tested whether the experiences of Marketplace enrollees differed from off-Marketplace individuals, controlling for deductible levels. Results from multivariable and propensity score weighted regression models showed that many of the outcomes were adversely affected by deductible levels and Marketplace enrollment. These results highlight the importance of efforts to help individuals choose the plan that fits both their medical needs and their budgets. The study also calls for more attention to improving provider acceptance of HDHPs and Marketplace plans as these plans become increasingly common over time.


1987 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1304-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Passel ◽  
Karen A. Woodrow

This article presents estimates of the number of undocumented aliens included in the April 1983 Current Population Survey (CPS) derived by subtracting an estimate of the legally resident foreign born population from the survey estimate of all foreign born residents. The methodology is similar to that used by Warren and Passel (1987) with the 1980 census. Also presented are similar estimates for the November 1979 CPS — reestimates following the work of Warren (1982). Estimates are presented by period of entry for Mexico and other groups of countries. Comparison of the April 1983 estimate with the census-based estimate and the November 1979 survey-based estimate provide an indication of growth in the undocumented alien population for 1980–83. For this recent period, the implied annual growth in the undocumented alien population is in the range of 100,000 to 300,000 — a range lower than has usually been offered in speculative assessments.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Pascale

Abstract Measurement error can be very difficult to assess and reduce. While great strides have been made in the field of survey methods research in recent years, many ongoing federal surveys were initiated decades ago, before testing methods were fully developed. However, the longer a survey is in use, the more established the time series becomes, and any change to a questionnaire risks a break in that time series. This article documents how a major federal survey – the health insurance module of the Current Population Survey (CPS) – was redesigned over the course of 15 years through a systematic series of small, iterative tests, both qualitative and quantitative. This overview summarizes those tests and results, and illustrates how particular questionnaire design features were identified as problematic, and how improvements were developed and evaluated. While the particular topic is health insurance, the general approach (a coordinated series of small tests), along with the specific tests and methods employed, are not uniquely applicable to health insurance. Furthermore, the particular questionnaire design features of the CPS health module that were found to be most problematic are used in many other major surveys on a range of topic areas.


1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo ◽  
Gonzalo Pinon

We use data from the June 1986 Current Population Survey to investigate nativity and citizenship differences in earnings within the Mexican-origin population in the United States. There is no evidence of any “costs” of nativity or citizenship status. Rather, the existing variation appears to be more than explained by the distribution of earnings-related endowments. In fact, there is evidence that immigrants are better rewarded for their lower endowments. A possible explanation is that the Mexican-origin population is seen as homogeneous by employers, who therefore compensate individuals similarly, regardless of their respective endowments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document