title: The accuracy of reported insurance status in the MEPS.
abstract: Estimates of the number of insured and uninsured Americans are watched by numerous policymakers and the public, yet studies find respondents do not report their insurance status perfectly. Using four sources of validation data, including surveys of employers and providers, this paper assesses the quality of respondents' reports of private insurance and uninsurance in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (MEPS-HC), a nationally representative household survey. Regression analysis is used to assess the extent to which factors are associated with disagreements in reported insurance status across sources.
authors.affiliation: Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850, USA. shill@ahrq.gov
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007343:Insurance Carriers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States