Urban Institute

About: Urban Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Medicaid & Population. The organization has 927 authors who have published 2330 publications receiving 86426 citations.

The promise of integrated representative surveys about sexually transmitted diseases and behavior.

Abstract: Background: It has been difficult to conduct representative surveys measuring both sexually transmitted disease prevalence and behavioral data. This article reviews the literature, describes a recent pretest of the feasibility of integrated surveys, and discusses the potential implications. Methods: Several national surveys are reviewed, including the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, National Health and Social Life Survey, and National Survey of Adolescent Males. The 1994 pretest of the National Survey of Adolescent Males collected urine specimens of male respondents, which were tested forChlamydia trachomatisusing ligase and polymerase chain reaction tests. Results: There have not been any prior national surveys that collect clinical measures of STD infection and detailed behavioral data. In the pretest, 85% of the eligible interview respondents provided a urine specimen. Of those tested, 6% were positive forC. trachomatis. Conclusions: Combining behavioral surveys with collection of urine specimens for STD testing in representative samples is feasible. However, STD testing adds new operational and ethical challenges to the conduct of household surveys.

Publicly subsidized health insurance: a typology of state approaches.

Abstract: Using information from case studies, published documents, and the Current Population Survey, this paper describes and classifies state approaches to providing health insurance to low-income populations (as of 1997). It examines the link between the scope of state efforts and uninsurance rates for low-income populations. Findings indicate that the breadth of state policies contributes to differences in insurance coverage for low-income persons across states.

The Effect of Mortgage Payment Reduction on Default: Evidence from the Home Affordable Refinance Program

Abstract: This article evaluates the effect of payment reduction on mortgage default within the context of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. We find that mortgage default is sensitive to payment reduction using univariate, duration and hazard modeling approaches. A relative risk Cox model of default with time-varying covariates estimates that a 10% reduction in mortgage payment is associated with about a 10–11% reduction in monthly default hazard for loans. This finding is robust to the inclusion of empirically important mortgage risk drivers (such as current loan-to-value and FICO score) as well as controlling for selection effects based on observables.