Information Sheet

November 2009

 

NCHS Health Insurance Data

 

PDF Version (89 KB)

 

About NCHS

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is the nation’s principal health statistics agency, providing data to identify and address health issues. NCHS compiles statistical information to help guide public health and health policy decisions.

Collaborating with other public and private health partners, NCHS employs a variety of data collection mechanisms to obtain accurate information from multiple sources. This process provides a broad perspective to help us understand the population’s health, influences on health, and health outcomes.

 

Health Insurance

Health insurance coverage is an important determinant of access to health care and health status.  Uninsured children and non-elderly adults are substantially less likely to have a usual source of health care or a recent health care visit than their insured counterparts. The major source of coverage for persons under 65 years of age is private employer-sponsored group health insurance.  Private health insurance may also be purchased on an individual basis, but it costs more and generally provides less coverage than group insurance.  Public programs such as Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program provide coverage for many low-income children and adults.  The development of programs and policies to extend coverage to the uninsured requires timely and accurate information on the number of persons who lack health insurance coverage and the number of different types of coverage.

 

Health Insurance Data

NCHS’ National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) provides three types of measures of lack of health insurance coverage on a quarterly basis: uninsured at the time of the interview, uninsured at least part of the year prior to the interview, and uninsured for more than a year at the time of interview, and provides information on public and private coverage for those currently insured.  In addition, the NHIS reports state-level estimates of being uninsured at the time of interview, having public coverage, and having private health insurance coverage for the 20 largest states.

Source: NCHS Health Insurance Data, January-March, 2009.

 

NHIS data from January-March, 2009 show:

• 44.9 million persons (14.9 percent) of all ages were uninsured at the time of the interview, 57.7 million (19.2 percent) had been uninsured for at least part of the year prior to the interview, and 32.1 million (10.7 percent) had been uninsured for more than a year at the time of the interview.
  
• 20.3 percent of persons aged 18-64 years and 8.2 percent of children under age 18 were uninsured at the time of the interview.

• 63.5 percent of currently unemployed adults18-64 years and more than 21.5 percent of employed adults aged 18-64 years had been uninsured for at least part of the past year, and about 34.8 percent of currently unemployed adults and over 13.2 percent of employed adults had been uninsured for more than a year.

 

Source: National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2008

NHIS data on health insurance coverage for children under 18 years of age show:

• The percent of near poor children without health insurance at the time of interview decreased from 22.8 percent in 1997 to 15.6 percent in 2008.
   
• The percent of poor children without health insurance at the time of interview decreased from 22.4 percent in 1997 to 12.4 percent in 2008.
   

The NHIS prepared a special historical report on long-term trends on the number and percent of persons under 65 years of age without health insurance. 

• During 1990-2008, the percentage of persons under 65 years of age with no coverage was stable at approximately 17 percent, which the number of uninsured at the time of interview increased by 6.6 million to 43.8 million persons during this period.
   
• During the earlier period from 1978 to 1990, the percent uninsured increased at a rate of 3 percent per year: from 12 percent in 1978 to 17 percent in 1990. The number of uninsured rose by 14.2 million persons during this period.

 

Health Insurance Data Source

National Health Interview Survey – obtains information on the nation’s health status through confidential household interviews that measure: health status and disability, selected conditions, insurance coverage, access to care, use of health services, immunizations, health behaviors, injury, and the ability to perform daily activities. NHIS website

 

Source: National Health Interview Survey, 1997-2008

Data from NHIS on the percent of persons who failed to obtain needed medical care due to cost show:

• In 2008, 6.5 percent of the population failed to obtain needed medical care due to cost at some time during the past 12 months, an increase from the 2007 estimate of 5.8 percent.
   
• From 1998 to 2008, there was a generally increasing trend in the annual percentage of persons who failed to obtain medical care due to cost from 4.2 percent in 1998 to 6.5 percent in 2008.

Source: National Health Interview Survey, 1978-2008

 

For further information about NCHS and its programs, visit the NCHS website, or call the Office of Planning, Budget and Legislation at 301-458-4100.

For further information on NHIS, visit the NHIS homepage.