Codes and Frequencies
Description
For persons in families with at least one private health insurance plan, HI1TYPR2 is a recoded variable which indicates the type of the first insurance plan mentioned. Respondents were asked for the plan name, and the NCHS matched the name against a master list of health care plans. HI1TYPR recodes plans into a large or small health maintenance organization (HMO), a fee-for-service plan (Blue Cross/Blue Shield or other), a single service plan, a preferred provider organization (PPO), or some other type of plan. HI1TYPR2 is similar to HI1TYPR1, but with slightly different categorizations.
The definition of HMO did not change for the years HITYPR2 is available. HMOs and Individual Practice Associations (IPA) were defined as plans whose members are generally required to use only those health care providers within the health care organization, and usually, members do not have to submit claims for costs of medical care services.
Details about the characteristics of insurance plans (such as HI1TYPR2) reflect plans for any family member in the household. In order to determine if the person (rather than someone else in the family) was covered by this plan, analysts should use the variable HI1PCOV (Health Insurance Plan 1: Person's Coverage Status), which indicates whether the person was covered by the plan.
Related variables
Please use the IPUMS NHIS drop down menu and search functions for other related variables.
Information was collected on the details of up to four plans per family for 1993 to 1995.
Users may also want to see the related variables HI2TYPR2, HI3TYPR2, and HI4TYPR2. Likewise, the variables HI2PCOV, HI3PCOV, and HI4PCOV indicate coverage status for each plan.
Users may also want to see the variable HIPTYPER, created by IHIS staff, which indicates whether a person had any plan that is an HMO.
Private insurance was defined as insurance which pays any part of a hospital, doctor's, surgeon's, or dentist's bill, except plans which pay only for accidents. For 1993 to 1995, single service plans were considered a form of health insurance.
The definition, order, and wording of private health insurance changed over time to reflect changes in the availability of different types of coverage and issues of interest. Users are strongly encouraged to review the user notes Insurance Data Collection and Private Insurance Definitions.
Universe
- 1993: Persons in quarters 3 or 4 covered by private health insurance.
- 1994-1995: Persons covered by private health insurance.
Availability
- 1993-1995
Weights
- 1994-1995 : PERWEIGHT
- 1993 : SAMPWEIGHT
