Skip to main content
SHADAC | State Health Access Data Assistance Center
CONNECT WITH US
VISIT STATE HEALTH COMPARE
  • ABOUT US
    Contact UsFeatured ProjectsOur Team
  • OUR EXPERTISE
    State and Federal Health PolicyMedicaid and CHIP PolicyDelivery and Payment System ReformHealth Coverage and Access to CareHealth Care Cost and AffordabilityHealth EquitySocial DeterminantsQuantitative and Qualitative EvaluationData Analytics and VisualizationState and Federal SurveysPopulation Health
  • BLOG & NEWS
    SHADAC BlogNewsletterIn the MediaSocial Media
  • PUBLICATIONS
    Reports & BriefsJournal ArticlesPresentationsInfographics
  • STATE PROFILES
  • ABOUT US
    Contact UsFeatured ProjectsOur Team
  • OUR EXPERTISE
    State and Federal Health PolicyMedicaid and CHIP PolicyDelivery and Payment System ReformHealth Coverage and Access to CareHealth Care Cost and AffordabilityHealth EquitySocial DeterminantsQuantitative and Qualitative EvaluationData Analytics and VisualizationState and Federal SurveysPopulation Health
  • BLOG & NEWS
    SHADAC BlogNewsletterIn the MediaSocial Media
  • PUBLICATIONS
    Reports & BriefsJournal ArticlesPresentationsInfographics
  • STATE PROFILES
ADVANCED SEARCH
DIG DEEPER
  • to
Search By Category
SHADAC | State Health Access Data Assistance Center
  • Search
  • View Menu
  • State Health Compare

Publication

author
SHADAC Staff and External Authors

p 612-624-4802
e shadac@umn.edu

linkedin
twitter
facebook

An Examination of the Medicaid Undercount in the Current Population Survey (CPS): Preliminary Results from Record Linking

May 2009:

Davern M, Klerman JA, Baugh D, Call KT and Greenberg G. 2009. "An Examination of the Medicaid Undercount in the Current Population Survey (CPS): Preliminary Results from Record Linking." Health Services Research, 44(3): 965-987.

This article examines why the Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates of Medicaid enrollment are significantly lower than actual Medicaid enrollment counts. Inaccurate Medicaid enrollment estimates pose a problem since data from the CPS is frequently used in health policy and research.

The authors linked data from the 2000–2002 Medicaid Statistical Information System and the 2001–2002 Current Population Survey. They analyzed the frequency of incorrect answers to the CPS question on Medicaid enrollment and frequency of imperfect concept alignment.

Key Findings:

  • The CPS estimates of Medicaid enrollment are 43 percent lower than actual Medicaid enrollment. The bulk of this underestimation is due to inaccurate responses to the survey question on Medicaid status.
  • 43 percent of CPS respondents enrolled in Medicaid did not indicate their enrollment in Medicaid on the CPS question about Medicaid status, and another 17 percent reported being uninsured despite being enrolled in Medicaid.
  • 12 percent of the discrepancy between the CPS and raw Medicaid enrollment counts is due to imperfect concept alignments, including people in Medicaid not included in the CPS sample size and people enrolled in Medicaid in multiple states.

The CPS survey results are a poor measure of Medicaid enrollment, largely due to Medicaid enrollees not responding accurately to questions about their enrollment status.

Click here to access the full text of this article.  

facebook
twitter
linkedin
google plus
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
University of Minnesota
The State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a part of the Health Policy and Management Division of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.
©2002-2022 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
  • Contact Us
  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy

Stay Up To Date

Join our mailing list to receive the SHADAC newsletter and news and events announcements from SHADAC.


SUBSCRIBE
  • SHADAC on Twitter
  • SHADAC on Facebook
  • Email SHADAC
  • Contact Us
  • Employment
  • Privacy Policy