HC2 Usual source of health care: Percentage of children ages 0–17 with no usual source of health care by age, type of health insurance, and poverty status, 1993–2020

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Characteristic 1993a 1994a 1995a 1996a 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019b 2020b,c
Ages 0–17
Total 8.0 7.4 6.5 6.3 6.9 6.5 6.7 7.0 5.8 6.1 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.6 6.0 5.7 5.5 5.4 4.0 4.1 4.1 3.6 4.4 4.8 4.3 4.7 2.9 2.3
Type of insurance
Private insuranced 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.0 3.3 2.9 3.3 3.4 2.4 2.6 2.2 2.5 2.0 2.2 2.9 2.7 2.4 2.7 1.5 2.0 2.2 1.7 2.5 2.7 2.3 2.8 1.6 1.1
Public insuranced, e 10.8 7.2 6.8 6.3 5.2 5.8 5.9 4.8 5.4 5.6 4.4 4.7 3.8 4.1 4.6 4.3 4.5 4.3 3.1 3.0 3.2 3.1 4.4 4.7 4.4 4.8 2.8 2.8
No insurance 24.3 23.2 22.5 23.1 27.6 28.0 28.5 29.7 28.0 29.6 28.8 28.9 31.6 29.7 32.2 30.2 28.6 28.9 27.8 29.1 24.7 27.2 28.6 27.3 27.1 25.4 17.6 13.5
Poverty statusf
Below 100% poverty 15.7 12.0 10.9 10.5 12.5 11.6 13.6 12.4 12.3 11.0 10.3 10.9 8.6 8.6 9.6 8.2 8.9 7.7 5.9 5.5 6.7 6.3 6.6 7.8 7.8 8.1 4.4 4.0
100%–199% poverty 9.1 10.6 8.6 9.3 10.0 10.1 10.1 10.9 8.6 9.0 7.9 7.6 7.8 8.4 8.9 10.0 6.7 8.3 5.9 5.5 5.5 4.8 5.9 6.8 6.2 5.9 4.4 4.2
200% poverty and above 3.8 3.6 3.6 3.2 3.8 3.5 3.5 4.0 2.9 3.6 2.9 3.0 3.4 3.3 3.7 3.2 3.7 3.3 2.4 3.0 2.4 1.9 2.9 3.0 2.6 3.3 1.9 1.2
Ages 0–5
Total 5.5 4.9 4.4 4.4 4.7 4.3 4.5 4.6 4.1 4.6 3.5 3.3 3.3 3.9 3.5 4.1 4.6 3.6 2.5 2.4 2.8 2.5 3.0 3.7 3.1 3.7 2.5 1.6
Type of insurance
Private insuranced 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.7 2.4 1.6 2.1 2.3 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.4 0.9 1.3 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.6 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.1 2.0 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.2 0.4
Public insuranced, e 7.6 5.2 5.1 4.2 4.2 3.9 3.7 3.2 4.4 3.6 3.0 3.6 2.9 3.3 2.7 3.7 4.1 3.3 2.3 2.0 2.7 2.4 3.2 4.0 3.6 5.0 2.9 2.9
No insurance 19.4 17.3 17.3 18.2 17.3 20.9 22.1 19.6 22.2 27.8 22.6 17.1 22.8 23.5 22.2 21.6 23.2 19.8 19.1 21.1 19.0 22.0 18.1 25.9 17.3 17.3 15.2 ‡
Poverty statusf
Below 100% poverty 11.2 7.7 7.9 6.7 8.2 7.7 8.3 6.9 8.4 8.1 6.2 6.4 5.0 6.1 4.9 7.0 7.8 5.5 3.2 3.7 4.8 4.6 4.2 6.3 5.6 6.9 3.0 ‡
100%–199% poverty 6.2 7.2 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.9 7.0 7.9 6.5 7.4 5.8 4.0 4.4 5.9 5.3 5.6 4.5 5.0 3.6 2.8 4.2 3.0 4.3 5.5 4.5 3.5 4.0 ‡
200% poverty and above 1.8 1.9 1.9 2.3 2.5 1.8 2.3 2.6 1.8 2.3 1.5 1.8 2.2 2.0 2.0 2.3 3.0 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.1 1.3 1.9 2.0 1.6 2.7 1.7 0.8
Ages 6–17
Total 9.4 8.7 7.5 7.3 8.1 7.6 7.8 8.1 6.6 6.8 6.3 6.5 6.3 6.4 7.3 6.5 6.0 6.4 4.8 5.0 4.7 4.1 5.1 5.3 4.9 5.2 3.0 2.7
Type of insurance
Private insuranced 4.9 4.4 3.9 3.6 3.8 3.5 3.8 3.9 2.9 3.1 2.5 2.9 2.4 2.6 3.4 3.1 2.7 3.3 1.8 2.4 2.6 2.0 2.7 3.1 2.5 3.2 1.7 1.4
Public insuranced, e 13.8 9.1 8.4 8.1 6.1 7.3 7.4 6.0 6.0 6.9 5.4 5.5 4.4 4.6 5.9 4.7 4.7 5.0 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.5 5.0 5.2 4.8 4.7 2.8 2.7
No insurance 26.5 26.0 24.8 25.2 32.1 31.1 31.1 34.5 30.3 30.3 30.9 33.5 34.7 31.9 35.5 34.0 30.5 32.6 30.4 31.6 26.7 29.0 31.9 27.8 29.9 27.8 18.6 16.0
Poverty statusf
Below 100% poverty 18.7 14.9 12.8 13.0 15.3 14.0 16.6 15.6 14.4 12.6 12.6 13.5 10.8 10.1 12.8 9.0 9.6 9.1 7.8 6.7 7.8 7.3 8.0 8.7 8.9 8.7 5.1 4.8
100%–199% poverty 10.8 12.4 10.0 10.9 11.9 11.7 11.7 12.5 9.7 9.8 9.1 9.4 9.4 9.7 10.9 12.4 7.8 10.2 7.0 6.8 6.2 5.7 6.7 7.4 7.1 7.1 4.6 4.9
200% poverty and above 4.8 4.3 4.4 3.5 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.6 3.4 4.2 3.5 3.5 3.9 3.9 4.4 3.5 4.0 3.9 2.7 3.6 2.9 2.2 3.4 3.4 3.0 3.5 2.0 1.4
‡ Reporting standards not met; estimates are considered unreliable.
a In 1997, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) was redesigned. Data for 1997–2018 are not strictly comparable with prior years of data.
b In 2019, the NHIS questionnaire was redesigned. Due to the changes to the survey design and the specific question on usual source of care, data for 2019 onward are not comparable with data for earlier years. For more information on the 2019 NHIS redesign, see: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2019_quest_redesign.htm.
c Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NHIS data collection switched to a telephone-only mode beginning on March 19, 2020. Personal visits (with telephone attempts first) resumed in all areas in September 2020. Response rates were lower and respondent characteristics were different in April–December 2020. Differences observed in estimates between April–December 2020 and other time periods may have been impacted by these differences in respondent characteristics.
d Children with both public and private insurance coverage are placed in the private insurance category.
e As defined here, public health insurance for children consists mostly of Medicaid or other public assistance programs, including state plans. Beginning in 1999, the public health insurance category also includes the Children's Health Insurance Program. It does not include children with only Medicare, Tricare, or the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
f Starting with America's Children, 2008, imputed family income was used for data years 1993 onward. Missing family income data were imputed for approximately 16%–30% of children ages 0–17 in 1993–2020. Therefore, estimates by poverty for 1993–2006 may differ from those in previous editions.
NOTE: Before 2019, usual source of health care was based on the following question: "Is there a place that [child's name] USUALLY goes when [he/she] is sick or needs advice about [his/her] health?" A follow-up question specified that these places may be a doctor's office or health maintenance organization, a clinic or health center, a hospital outpatient department, or some other place. Emergency rooms as a usual source of health care were excluded. Starting in 2019, usual source of health care is based on the following question: "Is there a place that [sample child's name] USUALLY goes to if [he is/she is/they are] sick and needs health care?" A follow-up question specified that these places may be a doctor's office or health center, an urgent care center, a clinic in a drug store or grocery store, a hospital emergency room, or some other place. Emergency rooms as a usual source of care were excluded.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey.

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