SIPP began using an Event History Calendar in 2014 to measure the specific months a respondent was covered by health insurance. The instrument included question series corresponding to each of the following types: Private, Medicare, Medicaid, Military, and ‘Other’.

SIPP data include a set of health insurance “screener” variables derived from the Event History Calendar, which may be incomplete annual indicators. These health insurance variables are EPR_SCRNR (Private Health Insurance), EMC_SCRNR (Medicare), EMD_SCRNR (Medicaid/Medical Assistance), EML_SCRNR (Military coverage) and EOT_SCRNR (Other health insurance coverage). These variables may underestimate coverage by type, and so should NOT be used to generate annual health insurance coverage estimates.

SIPP produces a set of recode variables to indicate whether a person held that coverage type in a certain month of the reference year. For data users looking for an annual indicator of coverage status, the monthly insurance recode variables can be used to construct the annual measure.

• RPRIMTH (any type of private insurance monthly coverage)
• RPRITYPE1 (employer-related monthly coverage)
• RPRITYPE2 (direct-purchase monthly coverage)
• RPRITYPE3 (Medigap monthly coverage)
• RPUBMTH (any type of public insurance monthly coverage)
• RPUBTYPE1 (Medicare monthly coverage)
• RPUBTYPE2 (Medicaid monthly coverage)
• RPUBTYPE3 (VA Health Care or CHAMPVA monthly coverage)

In general, for estimates of health coverage it is recommended to use these monthly recode variables rather than the variables within the Event History Calendar question series or the “screener” variables derived from this series.