Below is a description of sources used for data reported on the CHIP State Snapshots provided by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). All snapshots are available here.
Children’s Health Coverage Rates
To calculate children’s coverage rates, Georgetown CCF conducts an analysis of single-year estimates of summary data from the 2008-2015 American Community Survey (ACS). Children are defined as those under the age of 18. Data on sources of health insurance coverage convey whether a person has coverage at the time of the survey. The ACS is administered throughout the calendar year.
The Census Bureau provides the following categories of coverage for respondents to indicate source of health insurance: provided through an employer, purchased directly from an insurance company, Medicare, Medicaid or means-tested (includes CHIP), TRICARE or other military health coverage, VA, Indian Health Service (IHS), or other. People who indicate IHS as their only source of health coverage do not have comprehensive coverage and are considered to be uninsured. The estimates are not adjusted to address the Medicaid undercount often found in surveys.
Additional information on methodology is provided in CCF’s annual report on children’s coverage rates.
- Alker and A. Chester, Children’s Health Coverage Rate Now at Historic High of 95 Percent, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (October 2016).
Program Design
Information on the structure of CHIP programs, income eligibility thresholds, premiums and cost sharing can be found in the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and Kaiser Family Foundation annual 50-State Survey.
- Brooks et. al., Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, January 2017 Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost Sharing Policies as of January 2017: Findings from a 50-State Survey, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and Kaiser Family Foundation (January 2017).
Public Coverage for Children
Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data was retrieved from a Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) analysis of the Statistical Enrollment Data System (SEDS).
- Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), Child Enrollment in CHIP and Medicaid by State, FY 2016, (July 2017).
Marketplace enrollment was retrieved from CMS.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 2017 Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Public Use Files, (May 2017).
Arizona’s CHIP program, KidsCare, re-opened enrollment in July 2016. To more accurately reflect enrollment growth since the program re-opened, the separate CHIP enrollment figure in Arizona’s snapshot was retrieved from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS).
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Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), “AHCCCS Population Highlights,” (September 2017).
Federal Financing
Information on the CHIP match rate was retrieved from the Federal Register.
- “Federal Financial Participation in State Assistance Expenditures,” Federal Register 81: 80078-80080 (November 15, 2016).
Data on federal CHIP funding is published by MACPAC.
- MACPAC, CHIP Spending by State, FY 2016 (May 2017).
