Who has Health Insurance Coverage?
Exercises for the July, 2010 Seminar of the
National Poverty Center
The American Community Survey, for the first time in 2008, asked questions about seven types
of health insurance coverage. The health insurance information pertains to individuals. Each
question asked whether or not a person was covered by a particular type of insurance. The
data items are as follows:
Item
hinsemp
Description
Covered by employer or union provided health insurance
hinspur
Covered by privately purchased health insurance
hinstri
hinscaid
Covered by TRICARE (TRCARE provides health insurance to the military and
their dependents.
This is a Census Bureau derived data item indicating whether or not a person is
covered by employer or union provided insurance, privately purchased
insurance or TRICARE.
Covered by Medicaid
hinscare
Covered by Medicare
hinsva
Covered by Veterans Administration insurance
hcovpub
This is a Census Bureau derived data item indicating whether or not a person is
covered by Medicaid, Medicare or VA insurance
Covered by Indian Health Service. This is not included with public health
insurance coverage.
This is a summary data item indicating whether or not the individual is covered
by any health insurance.
hcovpriv
hinsihs
hcovany
PDQ Examples using Health Insurance Items
Example 1.
Question:
Query Type:
Universe/Selection:
Row:
Column:
For:
Weight:
Option
Health Insurance Coverage by State
Which state, in 2008, had the highest percentage of its residents covered by
health insurance? Which state the lowest percentage?
tabulation
year=2008
statefip
hcovany
(blank)
default
Percent by row and then sort by clicking on a column
The above example shows that the percent covered by some type of insurance was highest in
Massachusetts in 2008 where 96 percent were covered by some type of health insurance. The
Lone Star state had the lowest percent with only 76 percent covered.
If, instead of using statefip as the row data item, you had used metaread as the data item, you
would have found that 9 of the 11 metropolises with the highest percent of residents covered
by insurance were Massachusetts metropolises. That is, all Massachusetts metropolises were
at the top of the list of locations with extensive health insurance coverage. The other two
metropolises with almost everyone covered were Honolulu – where Hawaii insurance programs
cover many – and Rochester, Minnesota where the health care industry is the leading
employer. The four metropolises with the lowest proportions of their population covered were
the four Rio Grande Valley metropolises.
Example 2.
Question:
Query Type:
Universe/Selection:
Row:
Column:
For:
Weight:
Option
Health Insurance Coverage by Economic Status
How strongly related is a person’s economic status to their health insurance
coverage? Is the relationship the same for private insurance as it is for public
insurance?
tabulation
year=2008 & poverty>0
Poverty/50
hcovany
(Rerun with hcovpriv and then with hcovpub)
(blank)
Default
Percent by row
If we consider all types of health insurance coverage in 2008, we find that 69 percent of people
living in households with incomes less than one-half the poverty line were covered by some
type of insurance. Among those living in households with incomes five or more times the
poverty line, 95 percent had insurance coverage.
When public health insurance (Medicaid, Medicare and VA) is considered, we find that the
highest percent with coverage was 54 percent among persons in households with incomes 50
to 99 percent of the poverty line. Among persons living in households with incomes five or
more times the poverty line, only 13 percent reported public health insurance coverage.
Presumably many of these were covered by Medicare, an hypothesis that could easily be
tested.
When private health insurance is considered, we find that the highest percent with coverage
was 92 percent for those living in households with incomes at least five times the poverty line.
The lowest percent covered by private health insurance was 25 percent among those living in
households with incomes 50 to 99 percent the poverty line.
Example 3.
Question:
Query Type:
Universe/Selection:
Row:
Column:
For:
Weight:
Option
Health Insurance Coverage by Occupation for Employed Persons
In 2008, how did health insurance coverage for employed persons age 18 and
over vary by occupation when considering major occupational groups?
tabulation
year=2008 & age>17 & empstat=1
occupationsgrouped
Hcovany
(Or hcovpriv or hinsemp)
(blank)
Default
Percent by row then sort by clicking at the top of a
column of percents
If you consider major occupational groups in 2008, you find that persons in the military
occupations are most likely to reported being covered by some type of insurance. Not
surprisingly, 98 percent of persons working in these occupations said they were covered by
insurance. At the other end, only 56 percent of carpenters reported insurance coverage.
Rather than using occupations grouped as a row variable, you could use the class of worker
data item as the row variable. This is classwkrd. If you do that and consider the same universe
of employed persons age 18 and over, you find that 96 percent of the employees of the federal
government reported being covered by some type of insurance. Among those working as
unpaid family employees, only 67 percent reported having some type of insurance coverage.