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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the proportion of people with dental insurance — AHS‑02 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About this objective  |  Methodology  |  History

About this objective

Data

Data Source:  National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), CDC/NCHS

National baseline: 70.3 percent of persons under 65 years had dental insurance in 2019

National target: 74.8 percent

Numerator
Number of persons under 65 years who report coverage by any type of public or private dental insurance.
Denominator
Number of persons under 65 years.
National target-setting method
Percentage point improvement
National target-setting method details
Percentage point improvement from the baseline using Cohen's h effect size of 0.10.
1
National target-setting method justification
Trend data were not available for this objective. A percentage point improvement was calculated using Cohen's h effect size of 0.1. This method was used because it is consistent with the current national priority of increasing access to dental care for Americans. The Healthy People 2030 Workgroup Subject Matter Experts viewed this as an ambitious yet achievable target.
National data collection frequency
Annual

Methodology

Questions used to obtain the national baseline data

(For additional information, please visit the data source page linked above.)
What type of service or care does {your/person's} single service plan or plans pay for?

Dental care

  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Dental coverage (Plan 1)
  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Dental coverage (Plan 2)
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Dental coverage (Plan 3)
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Dental coverage (Plan 4)
  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know

*responses are aggregated

History

Comparable HP2020 objective
Retained, which includes core objectives that are continuing from Healthy People 2020 with no change in measurement.
Revision History
  • Revised. 

    In 2022, due to the 2019 NHIS redesign, the baseline was revised from 54.4% in 2018 to 70.5% in 2019. The target setting method was revised from Projection to Percentange Point Improvement. The target was revised from 59.8% to 75.0%.
  • Revised. 

    In 2024, the following categories were recalculated with the use of a newer variable: Never married, American Indian or Alaska Native only, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, 2 or more races only, Not Hispanic or Latino American Indian or Alaska Native only, Not Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander only, Not Hispanic or Latino 2 or more races only. Estimates from data year 2022 or earlier may vary slightly from estimates previously reported. The baseline, baseline year and target were not affected.
  • Revised. 

    In 2024, to correct a technical error, the baseline was revised from 70.5% in 2019 to 70.3% in 2019.
  • Revised. 

    In 2026, to correct a technical error, the target was revised from 75.0% to 74.8%.

1. Because Healthy People 2030 objectives have a desired direction (e.g., increase or decrease), the confidence level of a one-sided prediction interval can be used as an indication of how likely a target will be to achieve based on the historical data and fitted trend.