The dynamics of health insurance coverage: Identifying trigger events for insurance loss and gain

By linking consecutive years of the 1996-2004 Current Population Survey (CPS), we create new estimates of annual transitions into and out of health insurance coverage. Using the matched CPS panel data, we explore the dynamic factors - including job loss, changes in hours or weeks worked, and movement between firm sizes - associated with health insurance loss and gain. Job loss is strongly associated with losing insurance, whereas becoming reemployed is only weakly associated with gaining insurance. Movement down (up) in employment size is associated with insurance loss (gain), but movement to employers with fewer than 10 employees is associated with especially high rates of loss. Changes in hours or weeks worked and employment type are also strongly associated with insurance transitions. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008.