The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Background The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is conducted to provide nationally representative estimates of health care use, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. MEPS is cosponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). MEPS comprises three component surveys: the Household Component (HC), the Medical Provider Component (MPC), and the Insurance Component (IC). The HC is the core survey, and it forms the basis for the MPC sample and part of the IC sample. Together these surveys yield comprehensive data that provide national estimates of the level and distribution of health care use and expenditures, support health services research, and can be used to assess health care policy implications. MEPS is the third in a series of national probability surveys conducted by AHRQ on the financing and use of medical care in the United States. The National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) was conducted in 1977, the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) in 1987. Beginning in 1996, MEPS continues this series with design enhancements and efficiencies that provide a more current data resource to capture the changing dynamics of the health care delivery and insurance system. The design efficiencies incorporated into MEPS are in accordance with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Survey Integration Plan of June 1995, which focused on consolidating DHHS surveys, achieving cost efficiencies, reducing respondent burden, and enhancing analytical capacities. To accommodate these goals, new MEPS design features include linkage with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), from which the sample for the MEPS HC is drawn, and enhanced longitudinal data collection for core survey components. The MEPS HC augments NHIS by selecting a sample of NHIS respondents, collecting additional data on their health care expenditures, and linking these data with additional information collected from the respondentsÕ medical providers, employers, and insurance providers. Household Component The MEPS HC, a nationally representative survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, collects medical expenditure data at both the person and household levels. The HC collects detailed data on demographic characteristics, health conditions, health status, use of medical care services, charges and payments, access to care, satisfaction with care, health insurance coverage, income, and employment. The HC uses an overlapping panel design in which data are collected through a preliminary contact followed by a series of five rounds of interviews over a 21/2-year period. Using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) technology, data on medical expenditures and use for 2 calendar years are collected from each household. This series of data collection rounds is launched each subsequent year on a new sample of households to provide overlapping panels of survey data and, when combined with other ongoing panels, will provide continuous and current estimates of health care expenditures. The sampling frame for the MEPS HC is drawn from respondents to NHIS, conducted by NCHS. NHIS provides a nationally representative sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, with oversampling of Hispanics and blacks. Medical Provider Component The MEPS MPC supplements and validates information on medical care events reported in the MEPS HC by contacting medical providers and pharmacies identified by household respondents. The MPC sample includes all hospitals, hospital physicians, home health agencies, and pharmacies reported in the HC. Also included in the MPC are all office-based physicians: ¥ Providing care for HC respondents receiving Medicaid. ¥ Associated with a 75-percent sample of households receiving care through an HMO (health maintenance organization) or managed care plan. ¥ Associated with a 25-percent sample of the remaining households. Data are collected on medical and financial characteristics of medical and pharmacy events reported by HC respondents, including: ¥ Diagnoses coded according to ICD-9 (9th Revision, International Classification of Diseases) and DSM-IV (Fourth Edition, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). ¥ Physician procedure codes classified by CPT-4 (Current Procedural Terminology, Version 4). ¥ Inpatient stay codes classified by DRG (diagnosis-related group). ¥ Prescriptions coded by national drug code (NDC), medication names, strength, and quantity dispensed. ¥ Charges, payments, and the reasons for any difference between charges and payments. The MPC is conducted through telephone interviews and mailed survey materials. Insurance Component The MEPS IC collects data on health insurance plans obtained through private and public-sector employers. Data obtained in the IC include the number and types of private insurance plans offered, benefits associated with these plans, premiums, contributions by employers and employees, and employer characteristics. Establishments participating in the MEPS IC are selected through three sampling frames: ¥ A list of employers or other insurance providers identified by MEPS HC respondents who report having private health insurance at the Round 1 interview. ¥ A Bureau of the Census list frame of private-sector business establishments. ¥ The Census of Governments from the Bureau of the Census. To provide an integrated picture of health insurance, data collected from the first sampling frame (employers and other insurance providers) are linked back to data provided by the MEPS HC respondents. Data from the other three sampling frames are collected to provide annual national and State estimates of the supply of private health insurance available to American workers and to evaluate policy issues pertaining to health insurance. Since 2000, the Bureau of Economic Analysis has used national estimates of employer contributions to group health insurance from the MEPS IC in the computation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The MEPS IC is an annual panel survey. Data are collected from the selected organizations through a prescreening telephone interview, a mailed questionnaire, and a telephone followup for nonrespondents. Survey Management MEPS data are collected under the authority of the Public Health Service Act. They are edited and published in accordance with the confidentiality provisions of this act and the Privacy Act. NCHS provides consultation and technical assistance. As soon as data collection and editing are completed, the MEPS survey data are released to the public in staged releases of summary reports and microdata files. Summary reports are released as printed documents and electronic files. Microdata files are released on CD-ROM and/or as electronic files. Printed documents and CD-ROMs are available through the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse. Write or call: AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse Attn: (publication number) P.O. Box 8547 Silver Spring, MD 20907 800-358-9295 410-381-3150 (callers outside the United States only) 888-586-6340 (toll-free TDD service; hearing impaired only) To order online, send an e-mail to: ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov. Be sure to specify the AHRQ number of the document or CD-ROM you are requesting. Selected electronic files are available through the Internet on the MEPS Web site: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/ For more information, visit the MEPS Web site or e-mail mepspd@ahrq.gov.