Microsimulation of Demand for Health Insurance

Presentation by Jessica S. Banthin, CBO’s Deputy Assistant Director for Health, Retirement, and Long-Term Analysis, to the National Advisory Council, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

CBO’s health insurance simulation model (HISIM) is an important tool for estimating the budgetary and coverage effects of the insurance coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act. HISIM relies on data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) in two critical areas. The model uses individual level spending data from the MEPS Household Component to estimate individual health risk and benchmarks employer premiums to the MEPS Insurance Component data.