Notes on Data Sources:

Notes on CPS Data Source and Variables

Source data: March 2002 (calendar year 2001) and March 2003 (calendar year 2002) Current Population Survey. All data are weighted with the March supplement weight, rescaled to millions of people.

Gender is determined using the variable A-SEX.

Age is determined using the variable A-AGE.

Race and Hispanic status is determined differently for 2002 and 2003 files:

In the 2002 files (calendar year 2001 data), we used the variables A-RACE and A-REORGN. In Tables 1 through 5, all race groups include Hispanics. In Tables 6 through 12, all non-Hispanic race groups (White, Black, American Indian, and Asian) exclude Hispanics.

In the 2003 files (calendar year 2002 data), we used the variables PRDTRACE and PEHSPNON. In Tables 1 through 5, all race groups include Hispanics. In Tables 6 through 12, all non-Hispanic race groups (White, Black, American Indian, Asian, and Biracial) exclude Hispanics, and all non-Biracial race groups (White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic) exclude Biracial people.

Nativity and immigrant status are determined using the variables PRCITSHP, PEFNTVTY, and PEMNTVTY. People born in Puerto Rico and U.S. outlying areas and people born outside the U.S. to U.S. parents are considered native-born U.S. citizens. First-generation immigrants include all naturalized citizens and non-citizens. Second-generation immigrants include all native-born U.S. citizens with at least one parent born outside the U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S. outlying areas. Persons of native parentage include all remaining native-born citizens.

Income as a percentage of the poverty level is determined using the variables FTOTVAL and POVLL.

Education is determined using the variable A-HGA.

Family composition is determined using several variables.

Families are identified by the variables PH-SEQ and PF-SEQ; this approach considers related subfamilies as part of primary families. One person in each family is designated the family head. In families that include the household head (designated by A-EXPRRP), the household head is designated the family head. In families that do not include the household head, the person in the family with the lowest line number (A-LINENO) is designated the family head.

A 1 adult family with children must include the head and own children of the head under age 19. It may include own children of the head over age 19. It may not include a spouse of head (present or absent). It may not include any person over age 19 who is not the head or one of the head's own children.

A 1 adult family without children must not include any people other than the head. This excludes families in which the head has an absent spouse. A 2 married adults family without children must include the head and the spouse of head. It may not include any person under age 19 other than the head or the spouse of head. It may include other people age 19 and over of any relation to the head. An "other" family without children is an family that a) does not include people under age 19 other than the head or the spouse of head; and b) does not meet the conditions for a 1 adult family without children or a 2 married adults family without children.

A 2 married adults family with children must include the head, the spouse of the head, and own children of the head under age 19. It may include other people of any age or relation to the head.
A family includes a spouse of head if a) there is a person in the family whose line number (A-LINENO) is equal to the spouse's line number (A-SPOUSE) of the family head; or b) the head's marital status (A-MARITL) is married, spouse absent (exc. separated). A person in a family is an own child of head if his parent's line number (A-PARENT) is equal to the head's line number (A-LINENO) or the head's spouse's line number (A-SPOUSE).

An "other" family with children is any family that a) includes people under age 19 other than the head or the spouse of head; and b) does not meet the conditions for a 1 adult family with children or a 2 married adults family with children.

Family work status is determined using several variables.

Families are identified by the variables PH-SEQ and PF-SEQ; this approach considers related subfamilies as part of primary families. A person in a family is a full-time worker if he is employed on a full-time schedule and is not self-employed. A person is a part-time worker if he is employed on a part-time schedule and is not self-employed. Those employed on a full-time schedule are determined using the variable A-WKSTAT; it includes those who, in the week before the interview, either worked 35 hours or more, worked 1-34 hours for noneconomic reasons (e.g., illness) and usually work full-time, or were "with a job but not at work" but usually work full-time. The self-employed are determined using the variable A-CLSWKR; it includes those who, in the week before the interview, were self-employed at their primary job.

Families with 2 or more full-time workers include all families with 2 or more full-time workers. Families with 1 full-time worker include all families with exactly 1 full-time worker. Families with only part-time workers include all families with no full-time workers and at least one part-time worker. Families with only self-employed include all families with no full-time or part-time workers and at least one self-employed person. Families with no workers include all remaining families.

Notes on MEPS Data Source and Variables

Source data: 2000 and 2001 Full Year Population Characteristics of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. All data are weighted by the final person weight, PERWT00F.

Gender is determined using the variable SEX.

Age is determined using the variable AGE31X.

Race and Hispanic Status are determined using the variables RACEX and HISPANX. Some of the tables include Hispanic as a separate “race,” others incorporate it.

Income as percentage of federal poverty level is determined using POVCAT00. Categories reported for MEPS differ slightly from categories reported for CPS and SIPP because the category 200-300% is not included in the POVCAT00 variable.

Education is determined using the variables EDUCYEAR and HIDEGYR.

Wage is determined using HRWG31X, which is topcoded at the hourly wage of $57.50.

Insurance status is determined using several variables. Full year uninsured is defined using the value of 3 for INSCOV00. Ever uninsured during the year was created using INSJA00X through INSDE00X, monthly insurance indicators. Point in time status was determined by INS31X, an indicator of whether the person was uninsured during the interview round (each rounds spans about 3 to 6 months). The point in time used to determine point in time insurance status, age, education, work status and family composition is the first interview round during the year.

Family Composition is determined using the variables RFREL31X and SPOUID31. RFREL31X indicates the relationship to the reference person. An RFREL31X value of 0 indicates the person is the respondent. For each reporting unit, the person who owns or rents the dwelling unit is usually defined as the reference person. SPOUID31, specifically value 995- no spouse in house, is used to identify married couples where the spouse is not present. Family is identified by the variable CPSFAMID, which uses the CPS definition of family. This was so that estimates would be comparable to SIPP and CPS estimates, and because the POVCAT00 variable is defined based on cps family definition.

Family work status is determined using HOUR31, EMPST31 and SELFCM. A person is part time if they work between 1 and 35 hours per week, and full time if they work 35 hours or more per week. Those with an EMPST31 value of 3, who did not have a job at the time of interview but did have a job during the round, were coded as unemployed because they did not have data on hours worked or wage. Point in time status is determined based on status at the first interview round during the year.

Notes on SIPP Data Source and Variables

Source data: 2001 Panel, Survey of Income and Program Participation. Data for first twelve survey months (waves 1, 2, and 3.) All data are weighted by the final person weight for the first year of the survey, WPFINWGT_12, except for data relating to immigrants. Immigrant status is from the topical module administered in wave 2, and the weight is that on the topical module file.

Gender is determined using the variable ESEX

Race is determined using the variable ERACE

Hispanic origin is determined using the variable EORIGIN. All individuals coded as 19 – 29 (inclusive) were recoded as Hispanic.

Immigrant status is determined using the variable TCITIZNT (from the wave 2 topical module). Individuals coded as "naturalized citizen" or "not a naturalized citizen" (responses 2 and 3) are viewed as immigrants. Some individuals interviewed about immigrant status were not interviewed for each of the three interviews that provide twelve months of data and thus health insurance status, which requires 12 months of data, is unavailable; these individuals have a weighted total of 3,295,506.

Age is determined using the variables TAGE_01, TAGE_02, TAGE_03,…, TAGE_12, using the highest age over the year.

Education is determined using the variables EEDUCATE_01, EEDUCATE_02, EECUCATE_03 … EEDUCATE_12, using the highest level of education attained over the year.

Workers, the universe for some tables, includes those who worked at anytime (EPDJBTHN) over the year (i.e., in any of the three waves.) Those who report only self-employment are excluded, as are those who report both employment and self-employment and for whom self-employment makes up a larger share of their labor force participation over the year.

Individual work status is determined by the usual hours worked per week recode (RMHRSWK) for month 4 of wave 3, with "full time" coded for those with RMHRSWK values of 1 (all weeks 35+ hours) and 5 (at least 1, but not all weeks 35+ hours; all other weeks 0 hours); and "part time" for values 2 (all weeks 1-34 hours), 3 (some weeks 35+ and some weeks less than 35, all weeks equal to or greater than 1), and 4 (some weeks 35+, some 1-34 hours, some 0 hours.)

Family work status is determined from wave 3 responses. Families are identified by sample unit identifier (SSUID), household address ID (SHHADID) which differentiates households in the sample unit, and family ID number (RFID.) Part-time v. full-time is determined in the same manner as described for individual work status, above.

Wage/salary for primary earners. Wages and salaries are calculated based on wave 3 interview responses. For those who report an hourly wage (TPYRATE1 or TPYRATE2), that wage is used (with the higher or TPYRATE1 and TPYRATE2 used where those who report two jobs.) For those who do not report an hourly wage, monthly earnings (TPMSUM1 and TPMSUM2) are divided by four, and the result is divided by usual hours worked (EJBHRS1 and EJBHRS2.) For those who report two jobs, the job with the highest calculated wage is used. For those who report self-employment, an implicit wage is calculated in a similar manner as for the employed, and for those who report two businesses, the wage variable reflects the higher of the two implicit wages. Business earnings are the higher of TBMSUM1 or TPRFTB1 (or TBMSUM2 or TBMSUM2 for those who report two businesses.)

Family composition. Martial status is determined by the variable EMS. Families are identified by sample unit identifier (SSUID), household address ID (SHHADID) which differentiates households in the sample unit, and family ID number (RFID.)

Income as a percentage of the poverty level is determined using the variables RFPOV_01, RFPOV_02, RFPOV_03,…, RFPOV_12 and TFTOTINC_01, TFTOTINC_02, TFTOTINC_03,…, TFTOTINC_12. The sum of TFTOTINC_01 – TFTOTINC_12 was divided by the sum of RFPOV_01 – RFPOV_12.

Uninsured is determined using ECRMTH_01 – ECRMTH_12, ECDMTH_01 – ECDMTH_12, and EHIMTH_01 – EHIMTH_12.

• Uninsured all year – individuals who did not have Medicare (ECRMTH), Medicaid (ECDMTH) or private insurance (EHIMTH) for all 12 months of the year.
• Uninsured point in time: individuals who did not have Medicare (ECRMTH), Medicaid (ECDMTH) or private insurance (EHIMTH) during just the 12th month of the year.
• Uninsured ever during the year: individuals who did not have Medicare (ECRMTH), Medicaid (ECDMTH) or private insurance (EHIMTH) during any month of the year.