Medicaid Underreporting in the CPS: Results from a Record Check Study

The use of survey data can be significantly hampered by the occurrence of measurement error, particularly that engendered by respondent misreporting. Previous studies have shown that public program participation tends to be substantially misreported and underestimated. Comparison with administrative...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public opinion quarterly 2009-10, Vol.73 (3), p.497-520
Main Authors: Pascale, Joanne, Roemer, Marc I., Resnick, Dean Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Adjustment
Administrative records
Aid
Calendars
Census of Population
Censuses
Charity
Childrens health insurance programs
Correlation analysis
Data
Datasets
Enrollment
Enrollments
Error of Measurement
False negative errors
Funding
Health care policy
Health insurance
Households
Insurance coverage
Journalism
Measurement errors
Measurement techniques
Medicaid
Medicare
Methodology
Polls & surveys
Public opinion surveys
Questionnaires
Referents
Research methods
Research Responses
Social problems and social policy. Social work
Social Science Research
Sociology
Studies
Survey data
Surveys
Uninsured people
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Summary:The use of survey data can be significantly hampered by the occurrence of measurement error, particularly that engendered by respondent misreporting. Previous studies have shown that public program participation tends to be substantially misreported and underestimated. Comparison with administrative records shows such a situation with the reporting of Medicaid enrollment in the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS); for 36.2 percent of enrollees, their coverage was not reported in the survey. While false positive reporting also occurs, it is, on a percentage basis, much less frequent. To understand and correct for the false negative reporting, and to develop improvements to surveys to mitigate the occurrence of misreporting, it is useful to understand the factors that relate to it. This research sought to establish the relationship between false negative Medicaid reporting and various factors associated with the coverage (such as recency and intensity), the enrollee (such as demographics and the use of services), and differences in coverage status between the respondent and the person for whom he or she was reporting. Results show that coverage patterns including shared coverage, recency, and intensity of coverage all strongly relate to false negative Medicaid reporting in the CPS. The findings provide important guidance for questionnaire design improvements as well as model-based adjustments to the survey data.
ISSN:0033-362X
1537-5331
DOI:10.1093/poq/nfp028