Massachusetts Health Reform APPENDIX A: HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE AND INSURANCE DISPARITIES

A number of surveys, and one non-survey data source, provide estimates of insurance coverage in Massachusetts. These estimates vary widely due to differences in survey instrument and methodology, making comparison across surveys impossible – see (Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, 2008) for a detailed discussion. The Census’s Community Population Survey (CPS)is the longest running survey with data on health insurance status, conducted using a mix of phone and in-person interviews and supporting a wide variety of languages, but with the smallest sample sizeof surveys in Massachusetts (around 1,000 households in Massachusetts per year). The Census’sAmerican Community Survey (ACS) also uses a mix of mail, phone, and in-person interviews, with a large sample size (37,000 in Massachusetts), but only began asking respondents about their health insurance status in 2008. The Massachusetts Health Insurance Survey (MHIS), financed by the state, has a medium sample size (around 4,000 households), but underwent a major overhaul in 2008 when administration was passed from UMass Boston‟s Center for Survey Research to the Urban Institute, making survey data incomparable before and after health reform. The Massachusetts Health Reform Survey (MHRS), financed by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation and administered by the Urban Institute, is a phone-only survey with a similar sample size (3,000 households) that interviewed only non-elderly adults the year prior to reform and several years after reform. The Center for Disease Control’