SIPP_Attachment_H_2024 OMB_SIPP Health Brochure

Health Coverage
and Disability

Why Measure Health Coverage
and Disability?
Our health matters when it comes to taking
care of our family and making ends meet.
That means that we need to understand
families’ experiences with health, disability,
and access to health care to know how well
people and families are doing.

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

In order for the country to know what is
needed—how people are doing and where
they need help—we must conduct surveys
such as the SIPP to produce that information.

How the Census Bureau Protects
Your Family’s Information.

Because our country is so populous (over
300 million people), we can only survey a
scientific sample of the whole population.
Thus, your answers to this survey represent
thousands of Americans!

The U.S. Census Bureau is required by federal
law to protect the information you provide.
All personally identifiable information about
your household is removed during processing,
so that the information you provide can be
used to inform policies and programs without
compromising your right to privacy.

Americans work hard every day, striving to
overcome difficulties and better their life
circumstances. By studying our successes
and setbacks, we can help our nation make
informed decisions. By law, all personal
information collected for this study is kept
strictly confidential.
Thank you for participating in this survey, and
for helping to represent our nation’s most
important asset…

People Just Like You.

Mission and Purpose
Data from the Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP) are used to evaluate:

• Changes in income.
• Movement into and out of government
assistance programs.

• Changes in family composition and social

conditions for individuals and households.

• Changes in health, health insurance

coverage, and access to health care for
people and families.

More information on the SIPP can be found at
.

The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data
product for unauthorized disclosure of confidential
information and approved the disclosure
avoidance practices applied to this release.
CBDRB-FY22-POP001-0111.

Issued September 2022
Connect with us
@uscensusbureau

Health Insurance Coverage

Health Care

Disability

The SIPP contains a wealth of information on
health insurance coverage.

The SIPP measures how much people spend
on health care and how much health care
they receive. For people (aged 1 year and
older) in 2019:

The SIPP also measures disability,1 including
work-limiting disability:

• In 2019, 90.5 percent of people had

health insurance coverage for at least
part of the year.

• Health insurance was held by 98.8

percent of adults aged 65 and over, and
94.3 percent of children.

Percentage of the Population Covered by
Health Insurance in 2019 by Age

• In 2020, 20.1 percent of people had a

disability, and 8.6 percent of children under
the age of 15 had a disability.

• Less than 10 percent of people (8.6

percent) had an overnight stay in the
hospital.

• Among adults aged 15 to 70, 14.7 percent
had a work-limiting disability.

• Over half of the population (50.9

• There were 12.6 million adults aged 30 to

percent) took prescription medication.

64 who were employed and had a disability.

• On average, children and young adults

• Hearing difficulty was more common

(aged 19 to 25) had 3.4 visits to a medical
provider. Older adults saw their providers
more often, averaging 7.5 visits.

among men—affecting 5.0 percent of
adult men between 15 and 70 years old,
compared to 3.3 percent of women in this
age group.

98.8%

94.3%

• Compared to men aged 15 to 70, a higher

87.1%

83.6%

percentage of women in this age group had
difficulty doing errands alone and walking
or climbing stairs.

76.7

Percentage of Adults Between the Ages
of 15 and 70 With a Disability in 2020
by Sex

Average Number of Visits to a Medical
Provider in 2019 by Age

0–18
years

19–25
years

26–64
years

Difficulty doing
errands alone

65
years or
more

Difficulty dressing
or bathing

4.8

Age

3.4

3.4

Difficulty hearing

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Survey of Income and
Program Participation.

Difficulty concentrating,
remembering, or making
decisions

1–18
years

19–25
years

26–64
years

Difficulty seeing

65
years or
more

Difficulty walking
or climbing stairs

Age

4.8
5.9
3.0
3.1

Male
Female

5.0
3.3
8.0
8.4
3.5
3.9
7.7
10.0

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Survey of Income and
Program Participation.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Survey of Income and
Program Participation

Disability is defined as reporting at least one of the following six
types of disability: difficulty hearing, difficulty seeing, cognitive
difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, independent living
difficulty. More information on the disability questions can be found
at .

1

Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.
For further information on the source of the data and accuracy of
the estimates, including standard errors and confidence intervals, see

17.8
18.5

Any type of disabilty

7.5