Using Census business data to augment the MEPS-IC

Abstract

This paper has two aims: first to describe methods, issues, and outcomes involved in matching data from the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-IC) to other business microdata collected by the US Census Bureau, and second to present some simple results that illustrate the usefulness of such combined data. We present the results of linking the MEPS-IC with data from the 1997 Economic Censuses (EC), but also discuss other possible sources of business data. An issue in any linkage is whether the linked sample remains representative and large enough to be useful. The EC data are attractive because, given the survey's broad coverage and large sample, most of the MEPS-IC sample can be matched to it. We use the combined EC/MEPS-IC data to construct productivity measures that are useful auxiliary data in examining employers' health insurance offering decisions.