Affiliations: [a] Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends (CFACT),
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, MD, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Dr. Steven B. Cohen, Center
for Financing, Access and Cost Trends (CFACT), Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality, 540 Gaither Road John M. Eisenberg Building, Rockville, Maryland
20850, USA. Tel.: +1 301 427 1466; Fax: +1 301 427 1276; E-mail:
scohen@ahrq.gov
Abstract: This study provides a summary of the capacity of the Medical Expenditure Panel
Survey (MEPS) to produce national estimates of the continuously uninsured
population over a four year time frame and the adopted estimation strategy. The
paper reports on the employed methodology that permits more accurate estimates
of the long term uninsured than heretofore derived. This is accomplished through
the linkage of the survey to the National Health Interview Survey, allowing for
a reconciliation of insurance coverage responses covering overlapping time
periods. The production of national estimates of the long term uninsured for a
four year interval is a new MEPS output, and this study identifies the
characteristics of the uninsured. The utility of this information to improve
behavioral models of health care expenditure patterns is also described.
Keywords: Long term uninsured, health insurance, MEPS
