NHIS Early Release Reports

Problems Paying Medical Bills: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January 2011-June 2014

Previous work has shown that in the first half of 2011 through the first half of 2013, approximately one in five persons under age 65 was in a family with problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months (1–3). This report provides updated estimates for the percentage of persons under age 65 who were in families having problems paying medical bills, by selected demographic variables, based on data from January 2011 through June 2014 of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Estimates for 2011–2013 were based on full years of data, and the 2014 estimate was based on data collected during the first 6 months of 2014. In this report, an NHIS “family” is defined as an individual or a group of two or more related persons living together in the same housing unit. Thus, a family can consist of only one person. In some instances, unrelated persons sharing the same household, such as an unmarried couple living together, may also be considered a family.

This report is produced by the NHIS Early Release (ER) Program, which releases selected preliminary estimates prior to final micro-data release. These estimates are available from the NHIS website at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm. For more information about NHIS and the ER Program, see the Technical Notes and Additional Early Release Program Products sections of this report.

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