ABSTRACT
The Integrated Health Interview Series (IHIS) is a public data repository that harmonizes four decades of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The NHIS is the premier source of information on the health of the U.S. population. Since 1957 the survey has collected information on health behaviors, health conditions, and health care access. The long running time series of the NHIS is a powerful tool for health research. However, efforts to fully utilize its time span are obstructed by difficult documentation, unstable variable and coding definitions, and non-ignorable sample re-designs. To overcome these hurdles the IHIS, a freely available and web-accessible resource, provides harmonized NHIS data from 1969-2010. This paper describes the challenges of working with the NHIS and how the IHIS reduces such burdens. To demonstrate one potential use of the IHIS we examine utilization patterns in the U.S. from 1972-2008.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of the Current Population Survey's (CPS) Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) data. DATA SOURCES: Linked 2000-2004 Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) and the 2001-2004 CPS. DATA COLLECTION METHODS: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provided the Census Bureau with its MSIS file. The Census Bureau linked the MSIS to the CPS data within its secure data analysis facilities. STUDY DESIGN: We compared responses to the CPS health insurance items with Medicaid and CHIP status according to the MSIS. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: CHIP reporting in the CPS is unreliable. Only 10-30 percent of those with CHIP (but not Medicaid) report this type of coverage in the CPS. Many with CHIP report Medicaid coverage, so the reporting error for a Medicaid-CHIP composite is smaller, but still substantial. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the CPS CHIP information renders it effectively unusable for health policy analysis. Analysts should consider using a Medicaid-CHIP composite for CPS-based analyses.
