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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 prescription drug insurance — AHS‑03 Data Methodology and Measurement

On this page:  About the National Data  |  Methodology  |  History

About the National Data

Data

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

Baseline: 84.4 percent of persons under 65 years had prescription drug insurance in 2019

Target: 89.0 percent

Numerator
Number of persons under 65 years who report coverage by any type of public or private prescription drug insurance.
Denominator
Number of persons under 65 years.
Target-setting method
Percentage point improvement
Target-setting method details
Percentage point improvement from the baseline using Cohen's h effect size of 0.20.
1
Target-setting method justification
Trend data were evaluated for this objective but it was not possible to project a target because the trend has not been consistent over time. A percentage point improvement was calculated using Cohen's h effect size of 0.2. This method was used because it is consistent with the current national priority of lowering prescription drug costs for Americans.

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?

Prescription drugs

  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Prescription drug coverage (Plan 1)
  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Prescription drug coverage (Plan 2)
  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Prescription drug coverage (Plan 3)
  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know
Prescription drug coverage (Plan 4)
  1. Mentioned (= yes)
  2. Not mentioned
  3. Refused
  4. Not ascertained
  5. Don't know

*responses are aggregated

Methodology notes

Prescription drug coverage is defined as having one or more of the following: private health insurance, a single service plan that covers prescriptions, or Medicare Part D. More information on the definition of health insurance coverage is provided in the "technical notes" section of Health, United States, 2010.

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 2021, due to the 2019 NHIS redesign, the baseline was revised from 61.1% in 2018 to 82.0% in 2019. The target was revised from 70.6% to 89.0% using the original target setting method.
  • 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.

1. Effect size h=0.2 was chosen to correspond with 20% improvement from a baseline of 50%.