Codes and Frequencies
Description
For all persons with a private health insurance plan for hospital coverage, PHIHOBNOGR is a recoded variable which indicates that the plan was not obtained through an employer, union or workplace. For this variable, those "not in universe" combines persons who did not have private hospital insurance coverage (see HOSPNOMM or had a private plan which was obtained through a group (PHIHOBEMP) or obtained through "some other group" (PHIHOBOTH).
In 1976, private insurance was any type of insurance that paid for any part of a hospital, doctor or surgeon's bill, excluding single service plans but including plans which paid extra cash while hospitalized.
The definition of private insurance changed over time. Users are strongly encouraged to review the user notes Insurance Data Collection and Private Insurance Definitions.
Comparability
There are no comparability problems with PHIHOBNOGR.
Users should be cautious about comparing PHIHOBNOGR with variables for 1997 forward. For 1997 forward, the NCHS edited responses to the question on what kind of coverage the respondent had (e.g., private, Medicaid, Medicare) based on the plan name given. This editing procedure increased accuracy of the type of insurance coverage that respondents had for 1997 forward, and reduces comparability with earlier years.
During the course of data editing, the NCHS discovered many errors in the responses to questions about insurance coverage. This might be shown, for example, by a mismatch between the name of the plan given by the respondent and the type of insurance coverage the person selected from the categories on the card. Users should be aware that the responses for PHIHOBNOGR have not been edited for accuracy and respondents may have mistakenly reported what type of insurance they had.
Universe
- 1976: Persons covered by private hospital insurance.
Availability
- 1976
Weights
- 1976 : PERWEIGHT
