Counting the uninsured using state-level hospitalization data.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the appropriateness of using state-level data on uninsured hospitalizations to estimate the uninsured population.


METHODS
The authors used 1992-1996 data on hospitalizations of newborns and of appendectomy and heart attack patients in Florida to estimate the number of people in the state without health insurance coverage. These conditions were selected because they usually require hospitalization and they are common across demographic categories.


RESULTS
Adjusted for the gender and ethnic composition of the population, the percentages of uninsured hospitalizations for appendectomies and heart attacks produced estimates of the state's uninsured population 1.6 percentage points lower than those reported for 1996 in the US Census March Current Population Survey.


CONCLUSIONS
Data reported by hospitals to state agencies can be used to monitor trends in health insurance coverage and provides an alternative data source for a state-level analysis of the uninsured population.
Turner
C
C
State Center for Health Statistics, State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Tallahassee 32308, USA. turnerc@fdhc.state.fl.us
Campbell
E
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001062:Appendectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology; D013219:State Government