| POPULATIONS Child Population
• Individuals under the age of 19 (age is defined below).
Total Non-Elderly Population
• Individuals (adults and children) under age 65 (age is defined below).
Non-Elderly Adult Population
• Individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 (age is defined below).
Immigrant Population
• First-generation immigrants (see immigrant status for definition)
Worker Population
• Non-elderly adults who worked as an employee at some time during the year; excludes those who were considered self-employed during the year (defined below under "Individual Work Status").
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VARIABLES
Age
• Age is defined as of the time of the interview, which varies for each data source. For CPS, the time of the interview occurs in March of the relevant year. For MEPS, the relevant interview typically occurs during the first 3-5 months of the year. For SIPP, age is calculated as of the last day of the 12 th survey month.
Education
• Data are reported only for adults over the age of 22. Categories denote the highest education level attained as of the time of interview, which varies for each data source. For CPS, the time of the interview occurs in March of the relevant year. For MEPS, the relevant interview typically occurs during the first 3-5 months of the year. For SIPP, age is calculated as of the last day of the 12 th survey month.
Family definition
• For family-level variables we used the CPS definition of a primary family, which is also adopted by SIPP. For MEPS, we constructed family-level variables to be consistent with the CPS approach.
• The CPS definition of a primary family includes all people living in the household dwelling who are related to the householder (main respondent) by blood, marriage or adoption. In addition to the respondent, respondent's spouse, and respondent's children this definition includes parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws and their children if living with the main respondent (AKA related subfamilies). Hence, this approaches considers related subfamilies to be part of the primary family
• Absent spouses: when a spouse is absent from the household but the couple is still married and not separated, we do not consider the absent spouse as part of the family.
• In subfamilies, the person with the lowest line number in the file is designated as the subfamily's "head."
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Family Composition
• Families are defined using the definition of families outlined above.
• Two main categories: households with children; households without children.
• Subcategories: 1 adult; 2 married adults; Other (2 or more related or unrelated adults)
Family Income Relative to Poverty Level
• Ratio of total family income to the relevant year's federal poverty threshold for the relevant family size. For all three data sources we used poverty level variables that were already constructed and contained in the files.
Family Work Status
• We used the definition of family outlined above.
• We used the work status at the time of the last interview (or month covered in the last interview) during the year.
• Categories: 2 or More Full-time Employed; Only 1 Full-Time Employed; Only Part-Time Employed; Only Self-Employed; No Workers.
• The "only self employed" category is for families where there is at least one person who is self-employed and there are no other persons employed for 30 or more hours/week.
• The "No Worker" category is for families without any employed persons AND without a self-employed person.
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Immigrant Status
• First generation immigrants: people who were not born in the U.S. , Puerto Rico or U.S. outlying areas or were not born abroad to U.S. parents.
• Second generation immigrants: people born in the U.S. , Puerto Rico or U.S. outlying area, or people born abroad of U.S. parents AND one or both parent was born outside of the U.S. , Puerto Rico or U.S. outlying areas.
• Natives: people who were born in the U.S. , Puerto Rico or U.S. outlying area, or people born abroad to U.S. parents AND both parents were born in the U.S. , Puerto Rico or U.S. outlying areas.
Individual Work Status
• We exclude persons under age 19 and age 65 and older. We exclude the self-employed (defined next) from employed categories because their access to ESI is limited compared with employed persons.
• For CPS and MEPS, a person is considered self-employed if (a) they report that their only source of earnings is from self-employment, OR (b) they are both employed and self employed but are employed for fewer than 30 hours/week. For SIPP, a person is considered self-employed if (a) they report that their only source of earnings is from self-employment, OR (b) they are both employed and self-employed but are self-employed for more than 17 hours/week.
• Time period: calendar year. This should align with the calendar year period used for insured/uninsured data.
• We classified individuals into one of the following mutually exclusive categories: Full Year Full Time; Full Year Part Time; Part Year Full Time; Part Year Part Time; Self employed; Did not work
• Full time is 35 or more hours per week.
• Part-time is less than 35 hours per week
• All year is 50 weeks or more per year.
• Part-year is less than 50 weeks.
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Race and Ethnicity
• In tables where the main focus is disparities across racial and ethnic groups, we constructed 5 mutually exclusive categories:
- White, not Hispanic
- Black, not Hispanic
- Asian/Pacific Islander, not Hispanic
- American Indian, not Hispanic
- Hispanic
• In tables where race and ethnicity is not the main focus, we used separate variables for race (White, Black, Asian, American Indian) and Hispanic origin (Yes, No). In these tables, the categories White and Black both include Hispanics
Uninsured Status
• Uninsured data are reported using three distinct reference periods: all year, ever during the year, and at a particular point in time. The "uninsured all year" data includes individuals who are uninsured during each month of the referent year. The "ever during the year" estimates include people who were uninsured for at least one month and for as many as 12 months; it includes people uninsured all-year.
• For SIPP, the tabulations are based on responses to interviews covering a 12-month period that in most cases corresponds with the calendar year. Respondents report whether they were covered by specific sources of public or private health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, other public, employment-based private, other private health insurance). Respondents are considered uninsured if they respond "no" to all of the coverage options; they are not asked directly if they are uninsured.
• For SIPP, the "point in time" estimates include those without coverage in the 12 th survey month.
For MEPS, the tabulations are based on responses to interviews conducted during a given calendar year, which includes interviews from two separate panels. For each panel, coverage status is obtained at the initial interview. At each subsequent interview, respondents are asked about whether their coverage has changed since the last interview and, if so, how and when. Respondents report whether they were covered by any public or private source of health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, TRICARE/CHAMPUS, other public coverage, employment-based private, other private health insurance). Respondents are considered uninsured if they respond "no" to all of the coverage options; they are not asked directly if they are uninsured.
• For MEPS, the "point in time" estimates include those without coverage during the first round of the calendar year (the specific Round is different for each of the two panels). This is consistent with the definition used in published data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which administers the MEPS.
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Wages/Earnings
• We include data for two populations: those with earnings from wages, salary or self-employment income (ages 19-64); and primary earners only (ages 19-64).
• The categories are in terms of hourly wages and so were computed for people with non-hourly wages/earning. We did this by summing personal earnings for the year and then dividing by the hours worked for that year. Personal earnings include wages, salary, and self-employment income. Hours worked is usual hours worked per week times the number of weeks worked for the year. In SIPP, for those who report multiple jobs or combinations of jobs and businesses, the wage is the highest wage (reported or imputed, based on earnings/usual hours) in the 12 th survey month.
• Primary earners are the individuals in a family (as defined earlier; includes related subfamilies) who have the largest earnings from wages, salary or self-employment income. If there is a tie, we selected the person with the lowest line number the file.
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