Making Health Care Count: Health Policy Impacts of the U.S. Census

November 20, 2020

As decreed by the constitution, the United States must complete a census every ten years, and attempt to count every resident in the country. The census’s primary purpose is to apportion the number of seats for each state in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the decennial count also shapes many health policy issues, including determining how billions of federal funds are distributed throughout the county, identifying historically underrepresented populations, and providing data sets for public health and health services researchers. This briefing provided an overview of how census data is collected, analyzed, and utilized, with a particular focus on how this process impacts health policy and public health. Panelists highlighted early insights from the 2020 census and discussed any opportunities and challenges policymakers should be aware of.

Speakers:

  • Cara Brumfield, MPP, Senior Policy Analyst, Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality Economic Security & Opportunity Initiative
  • Beth Lynk, Senior Director, Census Counts Campaign
  • Andrew Reamer, Ph.D., Research Professor, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, George Washington University
  • Tami Luhby, Senior Writer, CNN (moderator)

Presentation: Presentation

Event Resources

Key Resources

“Inaccurate Census Count Could Affect $1.5 Trillion in Federal Funding.” Luhby, T. Cable News Network (CNN). October 15, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/N3fv.

“Evaluating the Accuracy of the Decennial Census: A Primer on the Fundamentals of Census Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation.” O’Hare, W., Brumfield, C., Lee, J. Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. October 2020. Available at http://allh.us/RtXa.

“Differential Privacy for Census Data Explained.” Underhill, W. National Conference of State Legislators. September 9, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/CakA.

“Responding to the Census Will Help Plan Health Care Programs for the Next Decade.” America Counts Staff. United States Census Bureau. July 13, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/dxMh.

“The Risks and Rewards of Conducting a Census in The Digital Age.” Brumfield, C., Lee, J. Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. 2020. Available at http://allh.us/NbGU.

“Census 2020—a Preventable Public Health Catastrophe.” Cohen, G., Ross, C., Cozier, Y., et al. American Journal of Public Health. August 2019. Available at http://allh.us/hgGX.

“Protecting the Accuracy of the 2020 Census.” Citro, C. Issues in Science and Technology. August 2019. Available at http://allh.us/uA7h.

“Why a Fair and Accurate Census Matters to Thriving Private and Public Sectors.” Khan, S., Goldvale, C., Dutta-Gupta, I. Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Available at http://allh.us/twhd.

“The Census and Health Care.” Youdelman, M., Avanzo, B., Nerurkar, S. The Leadership Conference Education Fund. April 6, 2018. Available at http://allh.us/UGjb.

Additional Resources

“Developing the DAS: Progress Metrics and Data Runs.” United States Census Bureau. November 16, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/F8hq.

“2020 Census Research, Operational Plans, and Oversight.” United States Census Bureau. November 10, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/cu7k.

“Shortened Census Led to an Incomplete Count in Some Areas.” Henderson, T. Pew Research Center. November 4, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/BUED.

“230 Years and Counting: How Does the 2020 Census Compare to the 1790 Count?” United States Census 2020. November 2020. Available at http://allh.us/g8kj.

“Mapping Response Rates for a Fair and Accurate 2020 Census.” Center for Urban Research – The City University of New York. October 17, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/wyXN.

“Providing the Census Bureau With the Time to Produce a Complete and Accurate Census.” von Spakovsky, H. The Heritage Foundation. October 14, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/bK6D.

“2020 Census.” Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. October 2020. Available at http://allh.us/bwDK.

“’A Brush With Catastrophe’: Inside the 2020 Census Meltdown.” Stanton, Z. Politico. September 10, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/HmVK.

“About the Bureau – Who We Are.” United States Census Bureau. September 24, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/G6Mq.

“2020 Census – High Risk Issue.” United States Government Accountability Office. September 10, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/mhnw.

“What Is Going On With the 2020 Census?” Zamarripa, C. National Conference of State Legislators. September 8, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/Edtk.

“Will the 2020 Census Numbers Be Good Enough, and How Soon Will We Know?” Mervis, J. Science and Policy. August 24, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/M8j4.

“Schedule Adjustments for U.S. 2020 Census.” Jarosz, B. Population Reference Bureau. June 2, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/BCcA.

“Census Count Has Implications for Public Health: Health Funding, Programs Depend on Accurate Enumeration.” Krisberg, K. The Nation’s Health. March 2020. Available at http://allh.us/uQyb.

“Most Adults Aware of 2020 Census and Ready to Respond, But Don’t Know Key Details.” Cohn, D., Brown, A., Keeter, S. Pew Research Center. February 20, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/eh6c.

“Why the 2020 Census Matters for Public Health: An Explainer.” Reichel, C. Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. November 18, 2019. Available at http://allh.us/f6uv.

“A Fair Census Supports Shared Economic Opportunity.” Dutta-Gupta, I., Brumfield, C. Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. October 16, 2020. Available at http://allh.us/rWGm.

“Why the Census Matters for Reproductive Health.” Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. September 2019. Available at http://allh.us/KJm6.

“A Year Before the 2020 Census, Experts Share Four Key Insights.” Berube, A. The Brookings Institution. April 23, 2019. Available at http://allh.us/jHrC.

“What You Need to Know About the 2020 Census.” Wang, H. National Public Radio. March 31, 2019. Available at http://allh.us/mF3A.

“Can a Set of Equations Keep U.S. Census Data Private?” Mervis, J. Science. January 9, 2019. Available at http://allh.us/pNaM.

“Inaccuracies in the 2020 Census Enumeration Could Create a Misalignment Between States’ Needs.” Strane, D., Griffis, H. American Journal of Public Health. September 12, 2018. Available at http://allh.us/vnRE.

“The Census and Health Care.” Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. April 6, 2018. Available at http://allh.us/Vd4U.

Experts

Speakers

Cara Brumfield
Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality Economic Security and Opportunity Initiative, Georgetown Law, Senior Policy Analyst
cb1542@georgetown.edu

Beth Lyn
Census Counts Campaign, Senior Director
lynk@civilrights.org

Tami Luhby
CNN, Senior Writer
tami.luhby@turner.com

Andrew Reamer
George Washington Institute of Public Policy, George Washington University, Research Professor
areamer@gwu.edu

Experts and Analysts

William Frey
Population Studies Center Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Research Professor and Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution, Senior Fellow
bill.frey@usa.net

Indivar Dutta-Gupa
Center on Poverty and Inequality, Georgetown Law, Adjunct Professor of Law, Co-Executive Director
id141@georgetown.edu

Government

Robert Goldenkoff
Government Accountability Office, Director, Strategic Initiatives
goldenkoffr@gao.gov

Keith Hall
Congressional Budget Office, Director
keith.hall@cbo.gov

Ron Jarmin
U.S. Census Bureau, Deputy Director, Chief Operating Officer
ron.s.jarmin@census.gov

Chris Mihm
Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office, Managing Director
mihmj@gao.gov

Benjamin Overholt
U.S. Census Bureau, Deputy Director for Data
benjamin.a.overholt@census.gov

Stakeholders

Eryn Hurley
National Association of Counties, Legislative Director
ehurley@naco.org

Jennifer Imo
National Association of Towns and Townships, Federal Director
jimo@TFGNET.COM

Jack Peterson
National Association of Counties, Director of Strategic Relations
jpeterson@naco.org

Steven Lopez,
UnidosUS, Health Policy, Director
slopez@unidosus.org

Wendy Underhill
National Conference of State Legislators, Elections and Redistricting, Director
wendy.underhill@ncsl.org

Transcript