Need health care data?

The International Society For Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) has put together a database of databases from around the world. The ISPOR International Digest of Databases has goal is to organize global health care databases into searchable models.  Their working group on this topic is chaired by Carl Asche and Elisabeth Oehrlein.  If you have…

Cost effectiveness analysis Q&A

What is cost effectiveness analysis or CEA?   One definition is that CEAs–at least in the field of health care–measure the difference or ratio between cost of care and the benefits of care for a given intervention compared to an alternative treatment strategy.  The intervention could be a new surgical procedure, a drug, a behavior modification program or any other…

Increased access to CMS data

The Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC) has announced that individuals and firms will now be able to get access to more CMS data.  They describe their “Innovator Research” program as follows: Innovators and entrepreneurs may now access CMS data as part of a research study to create products or tools that they intend to sell…

Claims-based Measures of Disability

How does one measure disability?  This is a difficult question.  Many health economists face an even more difficult question: how does one measured disability in claims? A paper by Ben-Shalom and Stapleton attempts to answer this question using six definitions: Chronic Illness and Disability Payment System (CDPS). Developed by Rick Kronick  et al. 2000 (one…

What is the CPS?

The CPS is the Current Population Survey (CPS). This survey is administered by the Census and is one of the most widely used surveys in social science, particularly economics. A paper by Pascale et al. (2015) provides an overview of the survey and its quesitons related to health insurance: The CPS is a monthly labor…

Public Employee Health Insurance Data Sources

What data sources are available to measure active and retired public employees health insurance?  A study by Morrill (2014) outline several data sources that identify federal, state, and local government employees to answer this question.  The following tables are excepted from her article. Sources: Melinda Sandler Morrill. Active and retired public employees’ health insurance: Potential data sources.…

CPS updates its health insurance question

The Current Population Survey (CPS), a large monthly survey administered by the Census Bureau, is not only designed to measure labor force participation and employment, but is also used to measure health insurance coverage.  Health insurance coverage information is  collected once each year through the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), which is administered February through April.  However,…