Summary of requests to the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends (CFACT) for information to inform health initiatives and of the assistance provided from February through May 2009.
Source of Request |
Request |
Date |
Staff Responsible |
Assistance Provided |
| Senate rept. 110-410) and House of Representatives Appropriation Committees |
Study comparing the economic burden of an early diagnosis to that of a later diagnosis |
2/09 |
John Fleishman |
Prepared Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Report to Congress: Estimate of the Economic Burden of Late Entry Into Medical Care for HIV Infection. A copy of the report is available upon request. |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Update of Content in (MEPS Chartbook No. 13 |
3/09 |
Steven Machlin
James
Kirby |
Prepared report, Health Care in Urban and Rural Areas, Combined Years 2004-2006:
http://www.ahrq.gov/data/meps/chbook13up.htm
Findings featured in report Hard Times in the Heartland: Health Care in Rural America, outlining the health care challenges facing rural communities: http://healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/ |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Information on the medical expenditures, coverage, and access to care of the near elderly |
4/09 |
Jessica Vistnes
Philip Cooper
Didem Bernard
Jessica Banthin |
Prepared report, Near-Elderly Adults, Ages 55-64: Health Insurance Coverage, Cost and Access: http://www.ahrq.gov/data/meps/mepsneareld/ |
| SAMHSA/CMHS |
National estimates of mental health treatment expenditures from MEPS |
4/09 |
Samuel Zuvekas |
Prepared report, National Estimates of Health Insurance Coverage, Mental Health Utilization, and Spending for Low-Income Individuals: http://www.ahrq.gov/data/meps/lowinc/lowinc.htm |
| House Ways and Means Committee |
National estimates of the uninsured and availability of employer-sponsored coverage |
4/09 |
Steven Cohen |
Provided substantive assistance and national estimates from MEPS on the long-term uninsured: http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/Pub_ProdResults_Details.jsp?pt=Statistical%20Brief&opt=2&id=876 |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
National estimates of availability of employer-sponsored coverage and take-up |
4/09 |
Jim Branscome
Beth Crimmel
Jessica Vistnes
Philip
Cooper |
Provided national estimates from MEPS on availability of employer-sponsored coverage and employee take-up, further distinguished by establishment and employee characteristics. Descriptive statistics are available upon request. |
| Full House Committee on Veterans' Affairs |
Expert testimony on accuracy of long-term health care projection models |
4/09 |
Jessica Banthin |
Presented written and oral testimony on the general topic of long-term health care projection models and was included on a panel that included other experts from RAND, GAO, and CRS who had reviewed the VA's Enrollee Health Care Projection Model: http://www.ahrq.gov/news/jbtest042909.htm. |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Estimates of family-level out-of-pocket expenditures on health care services and premiums for families with group and nongroup coverage by poverty category |
4/09 |
Didem Bernard
Jessica Banthin |
Provided Research Findings #29 on family-level expenditures on health care services and premiums (http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/rf29/rf29.shtml) and Statistical Brief #202 on premiums in the nongroup market (http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/Pub_ProdResults_Details.jsp?pt=Statistical%20Brief&opt=2&id=857), as well as more disaggregated expenditure estimates by poverty and insurance (group vs.nongroup) using pooled data from recent years. |
| Stuart Hagen, Congressional Budget Office |
Analytical MEPS data file containing immigration and documentation status variables |
4/09 |
Tom Selden |
Developed MEPS analytical file, an important microsimulation data tool that plays a critical role in determining eligibility for certain public insuranceprograms, including Medicaid and SCHIP. Data are available in the AHRQ Data Center. |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Information
on eligibility in the childless adult population below poverty level |
4/09 |
Jessica Banthin
Julie Hudson |
Provided PUBSIM estimates and documentation in same format as Fall 2008 estimates sent to Chris Peterson of the Congressional Research Service. Descriptive statistics and documentation are available upon request. |
| Chris Peterson, Congressional Research Service |
Information on differences between nongroup and small-group markets by State |
5/09 |
Jessica Banthin |
Provided estimates derived from MEPS that identify differences between nongroup and small-group
markets by State. Descriptive statistics are available upon request. |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
National estimates of health insurance
Coverage and availability for women |
5/09 |
DSER and DMS staff in CFACT |
Provided MEPS-derived national estimates of health insurance coverage and availability for women. A report on women's health prominently featuring data from special runs done by DSER and DMS staff using both the MEPS HC and IC was posted on the healthreform.gov Web site: at http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/women.pdf [Plugin Software Help] |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Recent trends and updated estimates of out-of-pocket burdens and affordability thresholds by insurance status and poverty |
5/09 |
Didem Bernard
Jessica Banthin |
Provided (1) a copy of the Health Affairs article on financial out-of-pocket burdens (Banthin, Cunningham, and Bernard) and updated the tables in this article using MEPS data from 2006; (2) updated estimates of affordability thresholds by income level based on the methodology in the Blumberg et al. 2006 Health Affairs article; and (3) a copy of the article titled "Wealth, Income and the Affordability of Health Insurance" by Bernard, Banthin, and Encinosa, which was recently published in Health Affairs. Descriptive statistics and copies of manuscripts are available upon request. |
| Office of Health Reform, HHS |
Information on gender differences in financial out-of-pocket burdens |
5/09 |
Jessica Banthin |
Provided charts on trends in financial out-of-pocket burdens, 2001 through 2005. The differences by gender were included in the healthreform.gov Web report titled: Roadblocks to Health Reform: Why the Current Health Care System Does Not Work for Women: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/women.pdf [Plugin Software Help] |
| Chris Peterson, Congressional Research Service |
Demographics and characteristics of individuals who receive uncompensated care |
5/09 |
Tom Selden |
Provided national estimates derived from MEPS on the uninsured who could have afforded coverage but decided not to buy it and individuals with pre-existing conditions who are unable to obtain coverage. Descriptive statistics are available upon request. |
| Senator Bingaman's office |
The number of uninsured childless adults with chronic conditions by poverty status |
5/09 |
Jessica Vistnes |
Provided national estimates derived from MEPS on the number of uninsured childless adults with chronic conditions by poverty status. Descriptive statistics are available upon request. |
540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850 