Women’s Health Care Utilization and Costs: Findings from the 2020 KFF Women’s Health Survey

The 2020 KFF Women’s Health Survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) of a representative sample of 4,805 adults, ages 18-64 years old (3,661 women and 1,144 men). The survey was conducted online and telephone using AmeriSpeak®, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. U.S. households are recruited for participation using address-based sampling methodology and initial invitations for participation are sent by mail, telephone, and in-person interviews. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish online (4,636) and via the telephone (169). Our previous Women’s Health Surveys were conducted exclusively by telephone, so trend data are not included in our 2020 survey. Interviews for this survey were conducted between November 19 and December 17, 2020, among adults living in the United States. KFF paid for all costs associated with the survey.

The sample for this study was stratified by age, race/ethnicity, education, and gender as well as disproportionate stratification aimed at reaching uninsured women, women who identify as LGBT, Asian women, and women 18-49 years old. The sampling also took into consideration differential survey completion rates by demographic groups so that the set of panel members with a completed interview for a study is a representative sample of the target population. This survey includes people who self-identified as ‘female’ or ‘male’ regardless of their sex at birth. While our goal was to be as inclusive as possible, we were not able to obtain a large enough sample to support a separate questionnaire that addresses the unique health concerns and experiences of non-binary or gender-fluid people to include them in this survey. We recognize that additional study is needed to better understand the health and access issues faced by non-binary people.

A series of data quality checks were run and cases determined to be poor-quality, as defined by surveys with a length of interview of less than 33% of the mean length of interview and with high levels of question refusal (>50%) were removed from the final data (n=96). Weighting involved multiple stages. First, the sample was weighted to match estimates for the national population from the 2020 Current Population Survey on age, gender, census division, race/ethnicity, and education. The second round of weights adjusted for the study’s sampling design. All statistical tests of significance account for the effect of weighting.

The margin of sampling error including the design effect for the full sample of women is plus or minus 2 percentage points. Numbers of respondents and margins of sampling error for key subgroups are shown in the table below. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher. Sample sizes and margins of sampling error for other subgroups are available by request. Note that sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error in this or any other public opinion poll.