These data files are created each year to support creation of the Group Health 
Plans Reports. The datasets includes all employer-sponsored private-sector 
welfare plans that are required to file a Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and
indicate that the plan offered health benefits to the covered participants.
The Group Health Plans Research Files correct many statistically important
logical and arithmetic data inconsistencies that remain after completion of
EFAST processing.   The data provided also include imputed and edited fields
that were not provided with the initial or amended Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, 
or any required Schedules.  

Notably, the field INS3 indicates whether a plan is deemed self-, mixed-, or 
fully-insured.  This field is populated using an algorithm developed jointly 
by EBSA's Office of Policy and Research and its contractors to partition the 
universe of employer-sponsored health plans based on insurance funding method.  
Note that for any particular plan in the data, the field may not be accurate 
for regulatory purposes.  The field is designed to categorize plans based on 
a reasonable assumption of insurance funding method and should not be used for 
any purpose other than to generate aggregate statistics.  The field provided 
in this data file has no bearing on federal or state rules and regulations 
that may be applied to a particular plan.

The downloadable zipped Group Health Plans Research Files include SAS datasets 
suitable for use on a Windows operating system, sample SAS tabulation programs, 
a SAS formats program, and documentation. The Group Health Plans Research File 
User Guides provide information on the construction of, structure of, and 
variables included on, the Group Health Plans Research File. Information on 
how to request the Group Health Plans Research Files in formats other than SAS 
data sets or for non-Windows operating systems can be obtained by contacting
EBSA's Office of Outreach, Education, and Assistance.




