Table of Contents

Component Description

The health insurance questionnaire (variable name prefix HIQ) provides participant level interview data on insurance coverage, type of insurance coverage, coverage of prescription drugs, and uninsured status during the past 12 months.

Eligible Sample

These questions were asked of all survey participants. A proxy answered for participants who were less than 16 years of age. There are no exclusion criteria.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The Health Insurance questionnaire was asked, in the home, by trained interviewers using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system. Participants reporting Medicare insurance coverage were asked to show their Medicare card.

Participants aged 16 years and older and emancipated minors were interviewed directly. A proxy provided information for survey participants who were under 16 years of age and for participants who could not answer the questions themselves.

Data Processing and Editing

The data were reviewed for completeness, consistency, and illogical values.

Analytic Notes

Although the health insurance data were collected as part of the household questionnaire, if they are merged with the MEC exam data, exam sample weights should be used for the analyses.

Please refer to the NHANES Analytic Guidelines and the on-line NHANES Tutorial for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues.

A list of variable names by survey period is presented in Appendix 1.

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HIQ011 - Covered by health insurance

Variable Name:
HIQ011
SAS Label:
Covered by health insurance
English Text:
The (first/next) questions are about health insurance. {Are you/Is SP} covered by health insurance or some other kind of health care plan? [Include health insurance obtained through employment or purchased directly as well as government programs like Medicare and Medicaid that provide medical care or help pay medical bills.]
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 8033 8033
2 No 1703 9736 HIQ065
7 Refused 4 9740 HIQ065
9 Don't know 16 9756 HIQ065
. Missing 0 9756

HIQ031A - Covered by private insurance

Variable Name:
HIQ031A
SAS Label:
Covered by private insurance
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by private insurance?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
14 Covered by private insurance 4357 4357
77 Refused 1 4358
99 Don't know 26 4384
. Missing 5372 9756

HIQ031B - Covered by Medicare

Variable Name:
HIQ031B
SAS Label:
Covered by Medicare
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by Medicare?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
15 Covered by Medicare 1206 1206
. Missing 8550 9756

HIQ031C - Covered by Medi-Gap

Variable Name:
HIQ031C
SAS Label:
Covered by Medi-Gap
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by Medi-Gap?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
16 Covered by Medi-Gap 14 14
. Missing 9742 9756

HIQ031D - Covered by Medicaid

Variable Name:
HIQ031D
SAS Label:
Covered by Medicaid
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by Medicaid?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
17 Covered by Medicaid 2175 2175
. Missing 7581 9756

HIQ031E - Covered by SCHIP

Variable Name:
HIQ031E
SAS Label:
Covered by SCHIP
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program)?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
18 Covered by SCHIP 98 98
. Missing 9658 9756

HIQ031F - Covered by military health care

Variable Name:
HIQ031F
SAS Label:
Covered by military health care
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by military health plan (Tricare/VA/Champ-VA)?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
19 Covered by military health care 162 162
. Missing 9594 9756

HIQ031G - Covered by Indian Health Service

Variable Name:
HIQ031G
SAS Label:
Covered by Indian Health Service
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by Indian Health Service?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
20 Covered by Indian Health Service 11 11
. Missing 9745 9756

HIQ031H - Covered by state-sponsored health plan

Variable Name:
HIQ031H
SAS Label:
Covered by state-sponsored health plan
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by state-sponsored health plan?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
21 Covered by state-sponsored health plan 592 592
. Missing 9164 9756

HIQ031I - Covered by other government insurance

Variable Name:
HIQ031I
SAS Label:
Covered by other government insurance
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by other government insurance?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
22 Covered by other government insurance 299 299
. Missing 9457 9756

HIQ031J - Covered by single service plan

Variable Name:
HIQ031J
SAS Label:
Covered by single service plan
English Text:
{Are you/Is SP} covered by any single service plan?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
23 Covered by single service plan 119 119
. Missing 9637 9756

HIQ031AA - No coverage of any type

Variable Name:
HIQ031AA
SAS Label:
No coverage of any type
English Text:
No coverage of any type.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
40 No coverage of any type 3 3
. Missing 9753 9756

HIQ065 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
HIQ065
English Instructions:
If Age>=65 and HIQ031B not= 15 then go to HIQ260. If HIQ031B=15 then go to HIQ105. Otherwise - continue.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HIQ259 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
HIQ259
English Instructions:
If Age < 65 and HIQ011=1(Yes) and HIQ031AA not=40(No coverage) then go to HIQ270. If Age < 65 and (HIQ011=2/7/9 or HIQ031AA=40) then go to END of section.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 64 YEARS

HIQ260 - Have Medicare?

Variable Name:
HIQ260
SAS Label:
Have Medicare?
English Text:
{Do you/Does SP} have Medicare?
English Instructions:
This is a health insurance program that virtually all persons 65 and older are eligible for.
Target:
Both males and females 65 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 132 132
2 No 112 244 HIQ269
7 Refused 3 247 HIQ269
9 Don't know 0 247 HIQ269
. Missing 9509 9756

HIQ105 - Insurance card available or not

Variable Name:
HIQ105
SAS Label:
Insurance card available or not
English Text:
Insurance card available or not.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 767 767
2 No 88 855
. Missing 8901 9756

HIQ269 - CHECK ITEM

Variable Name:
HIQ269
English Instructions:
If (HIQ011=1 and HIQ031AA not= 40) or HIQ260=1 then continue. Otherwise go to END of section.
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS

HIQ270 - Do plans cover prescriptions?

Variable Name:
HIQ270
SAS Label:
Do plans cover prescriptions?
English Text:
{Does this plan/Do any of these plans} cover any part of the cost of prescriptions?
English Instructions:
CAPI INSTRUCTION: IF HIQ031B = 15 or HIQ260 = 1, DISPLAY: [If you are enrolled in Medicare Part D, also known as the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, you have some prescription drug coverage.]
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 7596 7596
2 No 381 7977
7 Refused 3 7980
9 Don't know 66 8046
. Missing 1710 9756

HIQ210 - Time when no insurance in past year?

Variable Name:
HIQ210
SAS Label:
Time when no insurance in past year?
English Text:
In the past 12 months, was there any time when {you/SP} did not have any health insurance coverage?
Target:
Both males and females 0 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Yes 509 509
2 No 7533 8042
7 Refused 0 8042
9 Don't know 4 8046
. Missing 1710 9756

Appendix 1. Variable Names by Survey Period for HIQ

1999-2000 2001-2002 2003-2004 2005-2006 2007-2008 2009-2010 2011-2012 Label
HID010 HID010 HID010 NA NA NA NA Covered by health insurance
NA NA NA HIQ011 HIQ011 HIQ011 HIQ011 Covered by health insurance
HID030A HID030A HID030A NA NA NA NA Covered by private insurance
HID030B HID030B HID030B NA NA NA NA Covered by Medicare
HID030C HID030C HID030C NA NA NA NA Covered by Medicaid/CHIP
HID030D HID030D HID030D NA NA NA NA Covered by other government insurance
HID030E HID030E HID030E NA NA NA NA Covered by single service plan
NA NA NA HIQ031A HIQ031A HIQ031A HIQ031A Covered by private insurance
NA NA NA HIQ031AA HIQ031AA HIQ031AA HIQ031AA No coverage of any type
NA NA NA HIQ031B HIQ031B HIQ031B HIQ031B Covered by Medicare
NA NA NA HIQ031C HIQ031C HIQ031C HIQ031C Covered by Medi-Gap
NA NA NA HIQ031D HIQ031D HIQ031D HIQ031D Covered by Medicaid
NA NA NA HIQ031E HIQ031E HIQ031E HIQ031E Covered by SCHIP
NA NA NA HIQ031F HIQ031F HIQ031F HIQ031F Covered by military health care
NA NA NA HIQ031G HIQ031G NA HIQ031G Covered by Indian Health Service
NA NA NA HIQ031H HIQ031H HIQ031H HIQ031H Covered by state-sponsored health plan
NA NA NA HIQ031I HIQ031I HIQ031I HIQ031I Covered by other government insurance
NA NA NA HIQ031J HIQ031J HIQ031J HIQ031J Covered by single service plan
HID040 HID040 HID040 NA NA NA NA Dental coverage included
NA NA NA HIQ105 HIQ105 HIQ105 HIQ105 Insurance card available or not
HIQ210 HIQ210 HIQ210 HIQ210 HIQ210 HIQ210 HIQ210 Time when no insurance in past year?
HIQ220 HIQ220 HIQ220 NA NA NA NA How long since last insured
NA NA NA HIQ260 HIQ260 HIQ260 HIQ260 Have Medicare?
NA NA NA HIQ270 HIQ270 HIQ270 HIQ270 Do plans cover prescriptions?