Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) Program

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) Program

The 2017 Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) are now available on the Census Bureau’s website at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sahie.html.

SAHIE is the only source of single-year health insurance coverage estimates for all counties in the U.S. The estimates are provided by select demographic and economic characteristics (by age and sex groups and at income levels that reflect thresholds for federal and state assistance programs). The state estimates are also provided by race and Hispanic origin.

2017 COUNTY and STATE estimates of people with and without health insurance coverage by:

• Age groups: Under 65 years, 18-64 years, 21-64 years, 40-64 years, 50-64 years, under 19 years
• Sex groups: Both sexes, male only, female only
• Income groups: All incomes; <=200%, <=250%, <=138%, <=400%, 138-400% of poverty
• Estimates for the under 19 years group are available for just the six income categories listed above
• For states only: White alone, not Hispanic; Black alone, not Hispanic; and Hispanic (any race)

This release includes the 2017 SAHIE Report that describes differences in health insurance coverage across counties and states, as well as changes over time. An interactive data and mapping tool is also available, allowing data users to create and download county and state custom tables, thematic maps and time-trend charts for all concepts, annually for 2006 through 2017. For summary information comparing the Census Bureau’s health insurance data sets, the Health Insurance Guidance for Data Users page is available. Finally, the Census Bureau’s America Counts series released a story and data visualization that highlights how the percentage of people without health insurance coverage varies between rural and non-rural counties and across time.

The SAHIE data are the result of a multi-year collaboration between the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and the Census Bureau’s Small Area Estimates Branch.Florence K.L. Tangka has been leading this effort from the CDC. The purpose of this work is to supply the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) with a working denominator to estimate the percentage of eligible women screened/served for breast and cervical cancer. As applicable, NBCCEDP programs are encouraged to use the county-level health insurance coverage estimates to evaluate the reach and the equitable distribution of screening resources across their jurisdictions. 

SAHIE data may be useful in evaluating and planning other programs or initiatives that work with similar uninsured and low-income populations. For example, the data can be used to analyze geographic variation in health insurance coverage, as well as differences in coverage by race/ethnicity, sex, age, and income levels that reflect thresholds for federal and state assistance programs.

You can reach Florence K.L. Tangka at FTangka@cdc.gov or 770-488-1183; Jasen A. Taciak at Jasen.A.Taciak@census.gov or 301-763-9103; David S. Powers atDavid.S.Powers@census.gov or 301-763-5892, with any questions, comments, or suggestions.