Table 1.
Child and family demographic characteristics, 1998 versus 2009
| Weighted % | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 (n = 5,879; weighted n = 64 million) |
2009 (n = 9,125; weighted n = 68.7 million) |
P valuea | |
| Family incomeb | 0.09 | ||
| Low income (< 200 % FPL) | 37.1 | 40.8 | |
| Middle income (200 to < 400 % FPL) |
34.0 | 31.6 | |
| High income (≥400 % FPL) | 28.9 | 27.6 | |
| Child age | 0.39 | ||
| 0–4 | 27.9 | 29.7 | |
| 5–9 | 28.9 | 28.0 | |
| 10–13 | 21.5 | 20.9 | |
| 14–17 | 21.8 | 21.5 | |
| Region | 0.07 | ||
| Northeast | 18.9 | 17.4 | |
| Midwest | 25.1 | 22.0 | |
| South | 32.3 | 36.7 | |
| West | 23.7 | 23.9 | |
| Health status | 0.59 | ||
| Excellent/very good | 82.4 | 81.8 | |
| Good/fair/poor | 17.6 | 18.2 | |
| Race/ethnicity | <0.01 | ||
| White, non-Hispanic | 66.4 | 55.7 | |
| Non-white, non-Hispanic | 19.6 | 22.4 | |
| Hispanic, any race | 14.0 | 22.0 | |
| Family composition | 0.33 | ||
| One parent in household | 26.8 | 25.4 | |
| Two parents in household | 73.2 | 74.6 | |
| Child insurance type | <0.01 | ||
| Any private | 76.0 | 64.6 | |
| Only public | 24.0 | 35.4 | |
| Parent(s) insurance | <0.01 | ||
| Parent(s) continuous | 82.6 | 78.0 | |
| Parent(s) discontinuous | 12.2 | 10.9 | |
| Parent(s) no coverage | 5.2 | 11.1 | |
Bold values are statistically significant (P < 0.05)
Source: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Household Component (MEPS-HC), 1998–2009
a
P value compares change from 1998 to 2009
b
FPL = federal poverty level. We based household income stratifications on established MEPS-HC categories: low income [(<200 % of the FPL) combining MEPS-HC poor, near poor and low categories]; middle income (200 to <400 % FPL); and high income (≥400 % FPL) [26]. The FPL was $16,450 in 1998 and $22,050 in 2009 [44, 45]