NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017 

The Association of Marital Status and Offers of
 

Employer-based Health Insurance for Employed Women 

Aged 27–64: United States, 2014–2015
 

Jessica l. simpson, m.p.h., and robin a. cohen, ph.d. 

Key findings 

Data from the National 

Health Interview Survey 

● Among employed women 

aged 27–64, unmarried women 

(72.2%) were more likely 

than married women (69.3%) 

to have been offered health 

insurance by their employer. 

● Among employed married 

women aged 27–64, 16.8% 

were offered health insurance 

only through their spouse’s 

employer. 

● Considering all offers of 

health insurance (through a 

woman’s employer or her 

spouse’s employer), employed 

married women aged 27–64 

(86.1%) were more likely 

than employed unmarried 

women (72.2%) to have had 

an employer offer of health 

insurance. 

● Regardless of educational 

attainment, and for most 

income and racial groups, 

employed married women aged 

27–64 were more likely than 

employed unmarried women 

to have been offered health 

insurance by their employer or 

their spouse’s employer. 

In 2015, women were less likely than men to have been insured through their 

own employer and more likely to have been covered as a dependent (1). This 

report describes the association of marital status and the presence of employerbased health insurance offers among employed women in the United States. 

Analyses are limited to women aged 27–64 to exclude offers associated with 

parental employment for those under age 27. An offer of employer-based 

health insurance includes offers by the woman’s employer or her spouse’s 

employer. The presence of an offer does not indicate offer take up. 

Keywords: employer sponsored • National Health Interview Survey 

Do offers of employer-based health insurance for employed 

women aged 27–64 vary by marital status? 

●	 Unmarried women (72.2%) were more likely than married women 

(69.3%) to have had an offer of health insurance from their own 

employer (Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Percentage of employed women aged 27–64 with an offer of employer-based health 

insurance, by marital status: United States, 2014–2015 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Significantly different from unmarried women with own offer (p < 0.05).
 2

Significantly different from unmarried women with an offer (either their own or total offers) (p < 0.05).
 

NOTES: Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Access data table for 

Figure 1 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db268_table.pdf#1. 

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2014–2015.
 

u.s. department of health and human services
 

centers for disease control and prevention
 

national center for health statistics
 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

●	 Almost 17% of married women (16.8%) were offered health insurance only through their 

spouse’s employer. 

●	 Considering all available offers of health insurance through a woman’s employer or her 

spouse’s employer, married women (86.1%) were more likely than unmarried women 

(72.2%) to have had an employer offer of health insurance. 

Do offers of employer-based health insurance for employed women aged 

27–64 vary by marital status within categories of educational attainment? 

●	 Unmarried women who completed some college (71.1%) or who earned a college degree 

(82.2%) were more likely than married women who completed some college (67.0%) or 

who earned a college degree (76.8%) to have had an offer of health insurance from their 

own employer (Figure 2). 

●	 Considering all available offers of health insurance through a woman’s employer or her 

spouse’s employer, married women were more likely than unmarried women to have had an 

employer offer of health insurance across all levels of educational attainment. 

●	 Among married women, the percentage of employed women with an offer of health 

insurance from their own employer or their spouse’s employer (total offers) increased as 

levels of educational attainment increased. 

Figure 2. Percentage of employed women aged 27–64 with an offer of employer-based health insurance, by marital 

status and education: United States, 2014–2015 

1

Significantly different from unmarried women with own offer (p < 0.05).
 2

Significantly different from unmarried women with an offer (either their own or total offers) (p < 0.05).
 3

Significant increasing linear trend with increasing education for offers from own employer for married and unmarried women and for total offers for married 

women (p < 0.05).
 4

Significant quadratic trend for married women with offers from spouse’s employer (p < 0.05). 

NOTES: Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. 

Access data table for Figure 2 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db268_table.pdf#2.
 

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2014–2015.
 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

●	 Among unmarried women, the percentage of employed women with an offer of health 

insurance from their own employer increased as levels of educational attainment increased. 

Do offers of employer-based health insurance for employed women aged 

27–64 vary by marital status within categories of income? 

●	 Unmarried women with family incomes greater than 100% of the federal poverty level were 

more likely than married women with the same level of income to have had an offer of 

health insurance from their own employer (Figure 3). 

●	 Considering all available offers of health insurance through a woman’s employer or her 

spouse’s employer, married women were more likely than unmarried women to have had an 

employer offer of health insurance at all poverty levels. 

●	 Among married women, the percentage of employed women with an offer of health 

insurance from their own employer or their spouse’s employer (total offers) increased as 

family income increased. 

●	 Among unmarried women, the percentage of employed women with an offer of health 

insurance from their own employer increased as family income increased.
 

Figure 3. Percentage of employed women aged 27–64 with an offer of employer-based health insurance, by marital and 

poverty status: United States, 2014–2015 

1

Significantly different from unmarried women with own offer (p < 0.05).
 2

Significantly different from unmarried women with an offer (either their own or total offers) (p < 0.05).
 3

Significant quadratic trends for offers from own employer for married and unmarried women and for offers from spouse’s employer and total offers for married 

women (p < 0.05).
 

NOTES: Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Access data table for Figure 3 at: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db268_table.pdf#3. 

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2014–2015.
 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

Do offers of employer-based health insurance for employed women aged 

27–64 vary by marital status within categories of race and ethnicity? 

●	 Non-Hispanic white (73.6%) and non-Hispanic Asian (75.2%) unmarried women were more 

likely than non-Hispanic white (70.7%) and non-Hispanic Asian (66.2%) married women to 

have had an offer of health insurance from their own employer (Figure 4). 

●	 Considering all available offers of health insurance through a woman’s employer or her 

spouse’s employer, married women from all racial and ethnic groups were more likely than 

unmarried women to have had an employer offer of health insurance. 

Figure 4. Percentage of employed women aged 27–64 with an offer of employer-based health insurance, by marital 

status and race and ethnicity: United States, 2014–2015 

1

Significantly different from non-Hispanic white with own offer for married women (p < 0.05).
 2

Significantly different from non-Hispanic white with own offer for unmarried women (p < 0.05).
 3

Significantly different from non-Hispanic white with an offer (either their own or total offers) for married women (p < 0.05).
 4

Significantly different from unmarried women with an offer (p < 0.05).
 5

Significantly different from unmarried women with own offer (p < 0.05).
 

NOTES: Data are based on household interviews of a sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding. 

Access data table for Figure 4 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db268_table.pdf#4. 

SOURCE: NCHS, National Health Interview Survey, 2014–2015.
 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

Summary 

Health insurance coverage is an important determinant of access to health care in the United 

States (2). Marital status is an important predictor of having an offer of employer-based health 

insurance for employed women aged 27–64 across all levels of educational attainment, incomes 

relative to federal poverty levels, and racial and ethnic groups. Married women may gain an 

additional opportunity for an offer of health insurance through their spouse’s employer. However, 

a more complex picture emerges with regard to a woman’s own offer of employer-based health 

insurance. Among employed women, unmarried women with at least some college education, 

family incomes greater than 100% of the federal poverty level, and who were non-Hispanic white 

or non-Hispanic Asian were more likely to have been offered health insurance by their employer 

compared with married women in these same groups. 

Definitions 

Employment status: In the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), all persons aged 18 and 

over were asked, “Which of the following were you doing last week? Working for pay at a job 

or business; with a job or business but not at work; looking for work; working, but not for pay, 

at a job or business; not working at a job or business and not looking for work.” Women were 

classified as employed if the family respondent indicated that they were working for pay at a 

job or business; with a job or business but not at work; or working, but not for pay at a job or 

business last week at the time of interview. 

Federal poverty level: Based on family income and family size using the U.S. Census Bureau’s 

poverty thresholds for the previous calendar year. The 2014–2015 NHIS imputed income files 

were used to help create the poverty variable. 

Marital status: In NHIS, all persons aged 14 and over were asked, “Are you now married, 

widowed, divorced, separated, never married, or living with a partner?” Widows and women who 

reported that they were separated or living with a partner but were not married were excluded 

from the analysis because their health insurance coverage status relative to their current or late 

spouse was unclear based on state law and survivor benefit status. Women were classified as 

married if the family respondent indicated that they were currently married. They were classified 

as unmarried if the family respondent indicated that they were currently divorced or never 

married. 

Offers of employer-based health insurance: Women were classified as having their own offer of 

employer-based health insurance if they responded affirmatively to the following NHIS question, 

which was asked of the family respondent for all persons aged 18 and over who were working for 

pay last week, with a job or business but not at work last week, or working but not for pay last 

week: “Regarding your job or work last week, was health insurance offered to you through your 

workplace?” NHIS does not include a question that directly asks if the woman has an offer from 

her spouse’s employer. However, 97.8% and 97.7% of private-sector employees who worked in 

a U.S. firm that offered coverage were offered family coverage in 2014 and 2015, respectively 

(3–4). Therefore, if the spouse responded “yes” to the aforementioned question, the woman was 

assumed to also have received an offer of employer-based health insurance through her spouse. 

Under the Affordable Care Act, children under age 26 can join or remain on a parent’s plan, even 

if they are married (5). Therefore, women aged 26 and under were excluded from this analysis. 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

Data source and methods 

Data from the 2014–2015 NHIS were used for this analysis. NHIS data are collected continuously 

throughout the year by interviewers from the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for 

Health Statistics (NCHS). NHIS collects information about the health and health care of the 

civilian noninstitutionalized U.S. population. Interviews are conducted in respondents’ homes, but 

follow-ups to complete interviews may be conducted over the telephone. Data from this analysis 

come from the Family Core component of the 2014–2015 NHIS; one family respondent answered 

the questions about all members of the family. Women aged 27–64 were included in this analysis. 

Women under age 27 were excluded because they may be eligible for private health insurance 

coverage through their parent’s employer, and women aged 65 and over were excluded because 

the Medicare program covers most people aged 65 and over. More information about NHIS is 

available from: www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm. 

NHIS is designed to yield a nationally representative sample, and this analysis used weights 

to produce national estimates. Data weighting procedures are described elsewhere (6). Point 

estimates were calculated using SUDAAN software (7) to account for the complex sample design 

of NHIS. All estimates shown in this report meet NCHS standards of reliability (relative standard 

error less than or equal to 30%). Differences between percentages were evaluated using two-sided 

significance tests at the 0.05 level.

About the authors 

Jessica L. Simpson and Robin A. Cohen are with the National Center for Health Statistics, 

Division of Health Interview Statistics. 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

References 

1. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Fact sheet: Women’s health insurance coverage. 

2016. Available from: http://files.kff.org/attachment/fact-sheet-womens-health-insurancecoverage. 

2. National Center for Health Statistics. Fact sheet: Health insurance and access to care. 2015. 

Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/factsheets/factsheet_hiac.pdf. 

3. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. MEPS insurance component chartbook 2014. 

Rockville, MD. 2015. Available from: https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/MEPSICChartbook.pdf. 

4. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. MEPS insurance component chartbook 2015. 

Rockville, MD. 2016. Available from: https://meps.ahrq.gov/survey_comp/MEPSICChartbook.

pdf. 

5. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Young adult coverage. Washington, D.C. 

2013. Available from: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-law/young-adult-coverage/index. 

html#. 

6. Parsons VL, Moriarity C, Jonas K, et al. Design and estimation for the National Health 

Interview Survey, 2006–2015. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 2(165). 

2014. 

7. RTI International. SUDAAN (Release 11.0.1) [computer software]. 2013. 

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NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 268 ■ January 2017

 

       

   

   

   

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Suggested citation 

Simpson JL, Cohen RA. The association of 

marital status and offers of employer-based 

health insurance for employed women aged 

27–64: United States, 2014–2015. NCHS 

data brief, no 268. Hyattsville, MD: National 

Center for Health Statistics. 2017. 

Copyright information 

All material appearing in this report is in 

the public domain and may be reproduced 

or copied without permission; citation as to 

source, however, is appreciated. 

National Center for Health 

Statistics 

Charles J. Rothwell, M.S., M.B.A., Director 

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science 

Division of Health Interview Statistics 

Marcie L. Cynamon, Director 

Stephen J. Blumberg, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science 

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