Health Insurance Dynamics (HIDyn)

Filling The Gaps Research Project

The goal of this research project was to evaluate and inform strategies for reducing the number of uninsured Americans by filling or preventing gaps in health insurance coverage over time. The data source was the 1996 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), which tracks insurance coverage over a four-year period (1996 through 1999) for approximately 40,000 U.S. households. Directed by Dr. Pamela Farley Short, Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Director of the Center for Health Care and Policy Research at The Pennsylvania State University, the project documented the frequency and duration of gaps in health insurance coverage over the four years for the U.S. population under age 65. The number and percentage of people covered by various insurance sources and the duration of their coverage were estimated. People with multiple uninsured spells or with frequent changes in coverage were identified. Simulations using these estimates addressed policy-relevant questions about strategies for alleviating coverage gaps.

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