Appendix C
Major Survey Sources, Health And Social Welfare Programs
The content and design of four major surveys may need to be modified to permit them to track eligibility, participation, and outcomes of changes in health and social welfare programs:
Current Population Survey (CPS) March Income Supplement;
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP);
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS); and
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
This appendix briefly describes key features of the design and content of these surveys that are relevant to program eligibility and participation.
The CPS March Income Supplement
Design
The CPS is a monthly survey of 50,000 households, of which about 47,000 are successfully interviewed. The core questionnaire asks about current employment status and is the basis of the monthly unemployment rate statistics. The sample represents the civilian, noninstitutionalized population in the 50 states and District of Columbia and is designed to be state-representative. There is a rotation group design, in which one-eighth of the households are new to the survey each month. Household addresses are retained in the sample for 4 months, dropped for 8 months, and returned to the sample for another 4 months, so that there is 50 percent overlap in the sample of addresses from year to year. (The survey interviews people who currently live at each sample address; it does not follow individuals who move.)
The March income supplement obtains detailed information for sample members aged 15 and older on income and work experience for the previous calendar year. The sample for March includes an additional 2,500 housing units, interviewed the previous November, that contained at least one person of Hispanic origin. The sample also includes people in the Armed Forces living off post or with their families on post. Some respondents to the core questionnaire do not respond to the March income supplement.
