Description

For sample adults and sample children who currently have private health insurance coverage (HIPRIVATEE), EXCHANGE reports if the person has a health insurance plan from a state or federal insurance marketplace (e.g. Healthcare.gov or a state Health Insurance Marketplace). The determination was made using an NCHS algorithm to determine if the insurance plan name provided by the respondent matched an exchange-based private insurance plan. Prior to 2019, this variable was available for all persons who currently have private health insurance coverage.

New questions were added to the Health Insurance section of the NHIS Family core in 2014-2018, and the Sample Adult and Sample Child questionnaires in 2019 forward, to obtain details about whether plans (both private and public) were obtained through Healthcare.gov or the person's state Health Insurance Marketplace, whether there is an enrollment fee or premium (public plans only), and whether the premium is based on income (expanded to include public plans). For more information on these questions, please refer to MCAIDXCHG.

Data users: IPUMS NHIS discovered an apparent inconsistency in which 919 individuals with HIPRIVATEE = '3' (Yes, but no information) are coded as NIU in the 2014 EXCHANGE variable. NCHS recommends that those individuals be treated as 'Unknown - not ascertained' (EXCHANGE = '8').

Comparability

Persons included in the universe are persons who were classified as having private insurance in the back-edited variable HIPRIVATEE. IPUMS NHIS discovered an apparent inconsistency in the 2014 values, in which 919 individuals with HIPRIVATEE = '3' (Yes, but no information) are coded as NIU in EXCHANGE. NCHS recommends that those individuals be treated as 'Unknown - not ascertained' (EXCHANGE = '8').

Prior to 2019, EXCHANGE is completely comparable.

The NHIS questionnaire was substantially redesigned in 2019 to introduce a different data collection structure and new content. For more information on changes in terminology, universes, and data collection methods beginning in 2019, please see the user note.

Universe

Availability

• 2014-2023

Weights

• 2014-2018 : PERWEIGHT
• 2019-2023 : SAMPWEIGHT