Health Insurance Coverage The term "health insurance" is broadly defined to include both public and private payors who cover medical expenditures incurred by a defined population in a variety of settings. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) respondents were asked about their health insurance coverage in the previous month from 1993-96 and at the time of the interview in other years. Questions on health insurance coverage were expanded starting in 1993 compared with previous years. In 1997 the entire questionnaire was redesigned and data were collected using a computer assisted personal interview (CAPI). Respondents are covered by private health insurance if they indicate private health insurance or if they are covered by a single service hospital plan, except in 1997 and 1998 when no information on single service plans was obtained. Private health insurance includes managed care such as health maintenance organizations (HMO’s).Until 1996 persons were defined as having Medicaid or other public assistance coverage if they indicated that they had either Medicaid or other public assistance, or if they reported receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). After welfare reform in late 1996, Medicaid was delinked from AFDC and SSI. Starting in 1997 persons have been considered covered by Medicaid if they report Medicaid or a State-sponsored health program. Starting in 1998 persons are considered covered by Medicaid if they report being covered by the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Medicare or military health plan coverage is also determined in the interview and, starting in 1997, other government-sponsored program coverage is determined as well. The remaining respondents are considered uninsured. The uninsured are persons who do not have coverage under private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, public assistance, a State-sponsored health plan, other government-sponsored programs, or a military health plan. Persons with only Indian Health Service coverage are considered uninsured. The NHIS reported in 2001, that 1.3 percent of persons age 65 years and over had no health insurance but the small sample size precludes the presentation of separate estimates for this population. Therefore the term "uninsured" refers only to the population under age 65. SOURCE: Health, United States Related Links
This page last reviewed
January 11, 2007
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