This variable is no longer released with the SEER data. The documentation is provided here for reference only.

The Insurance Recode (2007+) variable was made available in the 1973-2010 through the 1975-2016 SEER Research Data (November 2012 - November 2018 submissions). The variable has five categories derived from the NAACCR field, Primary Payer at Diagnosis. The recoded categories are:

1 - Uninsured
Not insured
Not insured, self pay
2 - Any Medicaid
Indian/Public Health Service
Medicaid
Medicaid - Administered through a Managed Care plan
Medicare with Medicaid eligibility
3 - Insured
Private Insurance: Fee-for-Service
Private Insurance: Managed care, HMO, or PPO, TRICARE
Medicare - Administered through a Managed Care plan
Medicare with private supplement
Medicare with supplement, NOS and Military
4 - Insured, No Specifics
Medicare/Medicare, NOS
Insurance, NOS
5 - Insurance status unknown
6 - Blank(s)

Caution is urged when using this variable. Most patients who were 65 years of age and older at the time of diagnosis that were classified as "Uninsured", having "Private Insurance", or as "Insurance status unknown" were Medicare eligible, while patients diagnosed before 65 years of age were not. Stratification of this variable by these age groups may be warranted.