SIPP funding in jeopardy

Two of the country’s sources of policy relevant data on health insurance coverage, the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), are both facing funding shortfalls this year.  Without additional funding for the Census Bureau, the new SIPP panel that was scheduled to go into the field in February, will not start until September. In addition, a funding shortfall may force the Bureau to begin cutting the CPS sample size as early as February 2008.  The original SCHIP legislation added $10 million to the CPS to collect data on the number of uninsured children living in low-income families in each state. To get reliable estimates, the Census Bureau had to add 10,000 households to the survey. Over the past ten years, the cost of fielding the survey has increased. This year the Census Bureau requested $20 million to cover this cost. The request was included in Congress’ SCHIP Reauthorization, however, President Bush vetoed the bill.

Researchers and policy makers at the federal and state levels rely on the March sample of the Current Population Survey for estimates of the number of adults and children who are uninsured, as well as those on Medicaid or private insurance.  These data have proven critical to understanding reasons that people are uninsured and variations across the states.  If the Census Bureau does not receive additional funding by January, they will be forced to cut the sample size by 5,000 households by February 2008. This would substantially reduce the reliability of data in 27 states. (The most affected states would be CO, CT, DE, IA, ME, MD, MN, NE, NH, RI, and VT, as well as DC.)  Funding for the SIPP, another nationally representative survey that provides data on health insurance coverage, was included in the House and Senate appropriations bills for 2008, but has not become law.

SIPP has been important in understanding how long people are uninsured, and gaps in their insurance coverage.  Findings from SIPP have helped analysts and policy makers realize that continuity of health insurance coverage is critical and has helped encourage efforts to simplify renewal procedures for children on Medicaid or SCHIP, so that they can retain their health insurance coverage. The current level of funding for the SIPP has forced the Census Bureau to cancel its plans to start a new panel of the survey in February 2008. As the debate over SCHIP and broader health care reform continue, it is essential that researchers have access to reliable, contemporary data.

In order to ensure the availability of policy relevant data as we head into 2008, it is critical for Congress to include $2.5 million for the CPS and at least $11 million for the SIPP in the next Continuing Resolution. These funds would prevent cuts to the CPS sample and would allow the Census Bureau to begin fielding the SIPP in June rather than September.Please call your Representative today and ask him/her to fully fund the SIPP and the CPS in the next Continuing Resolution. You can find contact information for your Representative at www.congress.org. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. And of course…spread the word.