N C H S - N E H I S - M E P S

National Employer Health Insurance Survey

NEHIS Tables replicating Medical Expenditure Panel Survey- Insurance Component (MEPS-IC): 1996-1999

Description
NEHIS data are being released on the Internet in tabular format to increase access to the data and facilitate its use as baseline data for several surveys, including the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey- Insurance Component- MEPS-IC.

The NEHIS tables in this Section provide baseline data for the private sector MEPS-IC trend data.

Specifically, these tables replicate tables from the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) located on the MEPS website.

To facilitate these comparisons, the NEHIS tables use the same table numbering system as the MEPS-IC tables. Thus the NEHIS tables include two sets of tables: National data (firm size and selected characteristics) and State data (by firm size). Within these categories, tables are subsequently grouped by:

Establishments

All Employees

Full-time Employees

Part-time Employees

Enrolled employees

Annual premiums for single coverage

Annual employee contributions for single coverage

Annual premiums for family coverage

Annual employee contributions for family coverage

It should be noted that there are a few differences in the NEHIS tables from the MEPS-IC tables. First, the NEHIS tables do not replicate 16 MEPS-IC tables because the NEHIS does not have comparable data. MEPS-IC tables not replicated are: Tables IA2b, IA2b(1), IA2b(2), IA2b(3), IIA2b, IIA2b(1), IIA2b(2), IIA2b(3), and Tables IA2c, IA2c(1), IA2c(2), IA2c(3), IIA2c, IIA2c(1), IIA2c(2), IIA2c(3).

Also, the firm size categories used in that the NEHIS and MEPS-IC tables differ in the largest size category. Whereas the largest firm size category shown in MEPS-IC tables is "1,000 or more employees", the largest firm size category in NEHIS tables is "500 or more employees". This difference in table categories was due to an Office of Management and Budget clearance requirement of the NEHIS specifying that when the combined "response at the survey and item level in a given cell falls below 60%, the data should be considered insufficient for analysis ". The response rate for establishments in firms with 1,000 or more employees was 55 percent.

To prevent inadvertent disclosure of respondents, in accordance with Section 308(d) of the Public Service Act, all cell estimates in these tables were checked to ensure adherence to established confidentiality criteria¹. Each table includes both estimates and standard errors for those estimates. All cell estimates that fail confidentiality criteria are replaced with a ‘#" symbol. Cell estimates that do not meet the standard of reliability or precision are flagged with an ‘*’.

Definitions
Any provider plan: For these tables, any provider plans are conventional indemnity plans as reported by respondent.
Employee: Person on the payroll on December 31, 1993. Excludes employees under personal service contracts and persons hired from a temporary agency. The number of employees at an establishment includes the owner if s/he worked at the location of the establishment.
Establishment: An economic unit, at a single physical location, where business is conducted or services or industrial operations are performed. Self-employed persons with no employees and no other locations are excluded.
Exclusive provider plan: For these tables, exclusive provider plans are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans or Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) plans as reported by respondent.
Family coverage: A health plan that covers the enrollee and one or more members of their family, as defined by the plan. If more than one family rate was offered, the cost for a family of four was collected.
Firm: Business organization or entity consisting of one domestic establishment (location) or more under common ownership or control.
Firm size: Number of employees at all locations of the business nationwide, as reported by the survey respondent.
Full-time employee: A term defined by the respondent. Generally, a full-time employee works 35 to 40 hours per week.
Health Insurance: (Premium tables): For tables presenting premiums and enrolled employees covered by these plan, health insurance referred to plans with at least one enrolled employee that typically covered both inpatient hospital stays and outpatient physician services during the 1993 benefit year. Data for single service plans such as dental only, long term care, dread disease, hospital indemnity, and disability plans were excluded from these tables. Plans included were classified as any provider plans, mixed provider plans, or exclusive provider plans.
Health Insurance (Establishment and employee tables): includes basic, major medical, single service such as dental, and special plans such as long-term care insurance that the employer offered as of 12/31/93.
Industry group: Major activity of the establishment as classified by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.
Managed care: Either a mixed provider or exclusive provider plan.
Mixed provider plans: For these tables, mixed provider plans are Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans or Point of Service (POS) plans as reported by respondent.
Offer health insurance: An employer is considered to offer health insurance if one or more employees receive, or have the option to receive their health insurance through that employer. The employer may pay all, part, or none of the cost of the insurance. Plans obtained through unions or associations are included if contributed to by the employer.
Part-time employee: A term defined by respondents. Generally, part-time employees worked less than 35 hours per week.
Self-insured plan: A plan is considered self-insured by the employer when the financial risk for medical claims is borne partially or entirely by the employer.
Single coverage: A health insurance plan that covers an individual only.
Work schedule: Full-time versus part-time were respondent defined.

Internet Citation for Tables:
National Employer Health Insurance Survey. March 2001. National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD.

¹Department of Health and Human services. NCHS staff manual on confidentiality. DHHS/PHS-84-1224. 1984.