Economic Impact on Minnesota’s Health Care Delivery System
Presentation by Lynn Blewett to the Minnesota State Legislature at a joint meeting of the health care and human services finance and policy committees in Saint Paul, MN, February 10 2009.
The Medicaid Undercount and the Policy Relevance of Measurement Error in the Current Population Survey
Michael Davern's presentation titled, "The Medicaid Undercount and the Policy Relevance of Measurement Error in the Current Population Survey." Washington Statistical Society Seminar, Nov 13, 2008 in Washington DC.
Uncovering the Missing Medicaid Cases and Assessing Their Bias for Estimates of the Uninsured
Call, K. T., G. Davidson, A. S. Sommers, R. Feldman, P. Farseth, and T. Rockwood. 2001. “Uncovering the Missing Medicaid Cases and Assessing Their Bias for Estimates of the Uninsured.” Inquiry 38 (4): 396-408.
General population surveys of health insurance coverage are thought to undercount Medicaid enrollment, which may bias estimates of the uninsured. This article describes the results of an experiment undertaken in conjunction with a general population survey in Minnesota. Responses to health insurance questions by a known sample of public program enrollees are analyzed to determine possible reasons for the undercount and the amount of bias introduced in estimates of uninsured people. While public program enrollees often misreport the type of coverage they have, the impact on estimates of those without insurance is negligible. Restrictions to generalizing the finding beyond this study are discussed.
Publication
State Variation in SCHIP Allocations: How Much Is There, What Are Its Sources, and Can It Be Reduced?
Davern, M., L. A. Blewett, B. Bershadsky, K. T. Call, and T. Rockwood. 2003. “State Variation in SCHIP Allocations: How Much Is There, What Are Its Sources, and Can It Be Reduced?” Inquiry 40 (2): 184-187.
Allocations for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) varied 22% per state between 1999 and 2002. The funding fluctuations present significant problems for states as they develop budget priorities under difficult fiscal conditions. We examine sources of the variation in state allocations during the first four years of SCHIP, focusing on the Current Population Survey's "child component" of the allocation formula. We consider the trade-offs in using alternative estimates from the American Community Survey and model-based estimation. Obtaining reliable estimates of need for SCHIP allocations is critical for states dependent on federal support for insurance programs.