The Two Commonly Used Systems/Surveys To Collect Data On Health Insurance In The Country
The concerned department
responsible for collecting data in the United
States of America is the US Census Bureau. The
Census Bureau carries out surveys on a wide
variety of disciplines, including collection
of data on health
insurance, as also the subject of this brief
paper. In this regard, the Census Bureau uses
two methods namely the 'Current Population Survey
(CPS), and the 'Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP).
Both the above said surveys have
their own particular utility and importance.
Yet the difference is found in areas such as
their length and details of the questionnaire,
the different methodologies used for the collection
and processing of data, and lastly the production
of health insurance estimates of the different
segments of the population.
The Current Population Survey
A brief on the first method of collecting
health insurance data, the Current Population
Survey (CPS), reveals that it is primarily used
for the examination of timely estimates of two
population segments at the national level, the
insured and the uninsured. The CPS system of
surveys on health insurance is also helpful
in providing source of estimates on both the
insured as well as the uninsured populations
of the country.
The
Survey Of Income & Program Participation
The 'Survey of Income and Program Participation
(SIPP)' on the other hand is helpful in the
examination of the 'dynamics of health insurance
coverage change over time'. In addition, the
SIPP method of collecting data on health
insurance is a longitudinal survey which
takes into account the interviews of similar
set of respondents three times a year, and continues
so for three to four years. |
