The CHIME (Comparing Health Insurance Measurement Error) study used health insurance enrollment records from a large regional Midwest insurer as the sample for primary data collection in spring of 2015. In this study, a sample of individuals enrolled in a range of public and private coverage types (including Medicaid and marketplace) was administered the CPS health insurance module, which included questions about month-level coverage, by type, over a 17–18-month time span. Survey data was then matched to enrollment records covering that same time frame, and concordance between the records and self-reports was assessed.

Principal Findings

For 91% of the overall sample, coverage status and type were reported accurately for at least 75% of observed months.

Among those who were continuously covered throughout the 17–18 month observation period (64% of the overall sample), that level of reporting accuracy was observed for 94% of the sample. For those who had censored spells (34% of the overall sample), the figure was 87%. Among those with gaps and/or changes according to the records (2% of the overall sample), for 82% of the group at least 75% of months were reported accurately.

These findings suggest that reporting accuracy of month-level coverage is high - thus, this survey could become a new data source for studying overall dynamics of health insurance coverage, namely the Medicaid unwinding.

To read the full article, visit this link.

Learn more about:

• The Medicaid Unwinding
• Current Population Survey data
• Other CHIME products