Various Governments Pretesting Activites

2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey – Insurance Component (Governments)

Draft Cognitive Interview Protocol for Employment/Part-Time Employment

Research Questions to Address:

• Is the requested information available in respondent’s records?

• Do respondents have issues with comprehending the terminology used in the questions?

• How burdensome are the questions?

Expected Length of Interview: 15-30 minutes

Introduction:

• Explain purpose of call: to get feedback on potential new questions for the MEPS-IC

• Explain that we are not testing the respondent – we only want information

• Permission to record discussion (when taping)? Have R agree to recording on tape.

• Explain that MEPS is not the cause of HealthCare Reform and that the survey has been active for 16 years. (If topic arises)

Before the Questions:

• Thank respondent for completing the survey and participating in test questions.

Proposed Pretest Questions:

Item 1. How many employees were on your government unit’s payroll at this location for a typical pay period in 2012?

Item 2. For the same typical pay period in 2012, how many of the employees reported in (Item 1) worked part-time?

Follow-Up Questions for each item:

• What is this item asking for, in your opinion?

• How would you go about completing this item?

• Do you have access to all the information you need, or would you need to get help from others?

• (If need help) Who would you contact? Where is s/he located in the government? What is her/his role?

• How would you communicate the request? How would s/he return the data to you?

• Would you attempt to validate the response they gave you in any way? Would you compare this data to any data that you have?

• What records would you use to answer this question?

• (Item 1 only) What does the phrase ‘At this location’ mean to you? The address on the survey form was [insert government address]. Do you have employees at locations other than this address? Were they included in your figure? Why or why not?

• Compared to [insert Eligibility question number from the form], would you say this question is more difficult to answer, easier to answer, or about the same?

• Compared to [insert Enrollment question number from the form], would you say this question is more difficult to answer, easier to answer, or about the same?

• How would you rate the difficulty of this question? Would you say it’s very difficult, somewhat difficult, neither easy nor difficult, somewhat easy, or very easy?

• How would you rate the accessibility of data needed to answer this question? Would you say the data is not at all accessible, accessible with a great deal of effort, accessible with minimal effort, or easily accessible?

• How would you rate your level of confidence in the response you provided? Would you say you are very confident, somewhat confident, a little confident, or not at all confident in the response?

Wrap Up:

• How long do you think it would take you to answer the two questions about employees and part-time employees that we just discussed (total time, not elapsed time)?

• Do you have any other suggestions or recommendations for improvement for these questions, or any others on this form?

Thank you so much for your assistance today.