SHADAC Project Details - State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota

Summary information on our past and current projects includes:

The Medicaid Undercount: Real or Perceived Bias in Estimates of Coverage in General Population Surveys

Sponsor:  Changes in Health Care Financing Organization (HCFO)
Principal Investigator:  Kathleen Call
Duration:  12/03 to 6/06

This study is aimed at improving our understanding of how the estimates of Medicaid enrollment derived from general population surveys differ from administrative data counts of enrollment. The study will replicate a Minnesota study in three other states (California, Florida, and Pennsylvania) to examine the extent to which estimates of uninsurance are biased as a result of this undercount, and develop an adjustment to estimates of coverage to account for the Medicaid undercount.

Uncovering the Underrepresented: Evaluating the Discrepancy between Household Surveys and Population Coverage, State Administrative Data, and Survey Reporting Error

Sponsor:  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration: 12/04 to 1/06

This project brings together the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the US Census Bureau, ASPE, and the National Center for Health Statistics to evaluate why survey estimates of the number of people on Medicaid are so much lower than CMS counts of the number of people enrolled in the program.

Census Bureau web site with reports.

Integrated Health Interview Series

Sponsor:  National Institutes of Health
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  9/04 to 6/09

Design and implement a web-based data access system to combine and simplify access to data and documentation from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 1963 to 2003.

Visit the IHIS web site.

Improving Data and Methodology on Health Insurance Coverage in Federal and State Surveys

Sponsor:  AHRQ
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration:  9/05 to 2/06

Conduct a systematic and rigorous comparison of several high-profile national surveys and selected state-level surveys to identify and examine important similarities and differences across a number of dimensions.

State Medicare Impact Profile

Sponsor:  Mayo Medical Foundation
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  10/05 to 8/06

This project will develop a prototype for the State Medicare Impact Profile, a comparative report providing a comprehensive profile of states and an assessment of state capacity to implement changes to the Medicare program.  The State Medicare Impact Profile is the first systematic look at the impact of Medicare reform from a state policy and local market perspective.  This project will initially profile five states.

Results:  State Medicare Impact Profile, October 2006

Analysis to Develop Long-Term Care Financing Options

Sponsor:  Minnesota Department of Human Services
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  1/05 to 6/05

Provide the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) with an estimate of the potential need for long-term care services in the future and an evaluation of various private long-term care financing options.

Results:

• "Retirement Security and Minnesota's Elderly Population."  March 2005
• Full Brief
• Summary
   
• "Long Term Financing Options and Retirement Income Security of Minnesota's Elderly."  July 2005
• • Full Brief
  • Summary

Vaccines for Children Program:  Determining the Extent of Underinsurance for Children

Sponsor:  Association of Schools of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  10/03 to 9/05

The project addressed issues related to underinsurance and the federal vaccines for children program.  The project synthesizes existing survey data and models the impact of health insurance coverage on immunization rates.

Crowd-Out Synthesis

Sponsor:  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  8/03 to 5/04

Examine the evidence on crowd-out and its implications for future policies to expand coverage.

Cover the Uninsured Week Report

Sponsor:  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration:  delivery in May of each year

2007: "Who's Kids are Covered?"

2006:  "The Coverage Gap"
           "Shifting Ground:  Changes in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance"

2005:  Update the research report “Characteristics of the Uninsured a View from the States” for Cover the Uninsured Week.

2004:  Develop the research report “Characteristics of the Uninsured a View from the States” for Cover the Uninsured Week.

Covering Kids & Families Back-to-School Campaign Report

Sponsor:  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration:  3/05 to 8/05

2005:  Develop the report “Going Without:  America’s Uninsured Children” for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Back to School Campaign.

Ambulatory Care Database Feasibility Study

Sponsor:  United Healthcare Corp.
Principal Investigator:  Lynn Blewett
Duration:  10/04 to 6/05

This task order will address the ambulatory gap in healthcare data collection by assessing the feasibility of collecting administrative data from a variety of potential data sources, and ascertaining whether that data can answer the questions raised by policy makers, providers, and purchasers of care.

Minnesota Health Access Survey 2007

Sponsor:  Minnesota Department of Health
Principal Investigator:  Kathleen Call
Duration:  7/07 to 6/08

The 2007 MNHA survey is an update of the 2004 Minnesota Health Access Survey.   Fielding was completed in December of 2007 and complete analysis is underway as of Spring 2008.
Fact Sheet

Minnesota Health Access Survey 2004

Sponsor:  Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota 
Principal Investigator:  Kathleen Call
Duration:  5/04 to 4/05

The 2004 MNHA survey will provide estimates of current and prior year insurance status (by race/ethnicity, nativity, age, and geography), characteristics of those lacking insurance or experiencing spells without insurance, as well as tracking increasing out-of-pocket health care cost to individuals, perceptions of barriers to accessing insurance and health care more generally. 
Fact Sheet
Report

Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey

Sponsor:  Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration:  5/04 to 9/04

Under this contract we are conducting data analysis and producing tables for the Secondhand Smoking Report. We also provide technical assistance on data analysis, and make corrections to web tables as needed.

Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey   

Sponsor:  Minnesota Department of Health   
Principal Investigator:  Michael Davern
Duration:  6/04 to 10/04

The purpose of this project is to serve as a contractor to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for the development of web-ready demographic tables related to the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey.

Estimating the Need for Treatment for Substance Abuse

Sponsor:  MN Department of Human Services
Principal Investigator:  Donna McAlpine
Duration:  6/04 to 10/04

The primary objective of this project is to obtain accurate estimates of the number of adults in the general population in Minnesota who are abusing or dependent on alcohol or other drugs and are in need of treatment.