Researchers at University of Minnesota Release New Data on Insurance (Adapting the American Community Survey for the Affordable Care Act): Insurance

2025 NOV 13 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at NewsRx Policy and Law Daily -- A new study on Insurance is now available. According to news reporting out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “To measure the accuracy of questions on health insurance premiums and subsidies added to the American Community Survey (ACS) and their utility in categorizing coverage type following the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A reverse record check study where households in Minnesota with individuals enrolled in five different types of coverage-employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), non-group (outside the marketplace), marketplace, Medicaid and MinnesotaCare (a public plan requiring premium contributions from the enrollee)-were administered a telephone survey that included the ACS health insurance module appended with experimental questions on premiums and subsidies.”

Financial supporters for this research include American Society of Plumbing Engineers, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Minnesota, “Enrollment records from a private insurer were used as the sample for primary survey data collection in the spring of 2015 using the ACS health insurance module. Survey data were matched back to enrollment records, which indicated coverage status at the time of the survey. The analytic sample includes matched data on about 600 individuals. In total, 100%, 95.3%, and 86.9% of marketplace, non-group, and ESI enrollees, respectively, were correctly reported to have a premium. 74.6% of Medicaid enrollees were correctly reported NOT to have a premium and 77.4% of MinnesotaCare enrollees were correctly reported to HAVE a premium. For the subsidy item, correct reports of no subsidy were 99.1%, 93.8%, and 80.9% for ESI, non-group, and unsubsidized marketplace enrollees, respectively. A total of 72.4% of subsidized marketplace enrollees were correctly reported to have a subsidy. Analysis also indicates that an algorithm leveraging these two new data points can be used to separate the overall ‘direct purchase’ category into two sub-groups: subsidized marketplace and unsubsidized marketplace combined with individual non-group. Results indicate high levels of reporting accuracy for questions about premiums and subsidies.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Thus, this post-ACA module of the ACS is capable of rendering more detailed coverage types than previously possible.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Adapting the American Community Survey for the Affordable Care Act. Health Services Research, 2025. Health Services Research can be contacted at: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA. (Wiley-Blackwell - http://www.wiley.com/; Health Services Research - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1475-6773)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Angela R. Fertig, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.70066. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the journal Health Services Research is: Wiley, 111 River St, Hoboken 07030-5774, NJ, USA.

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