Description: Health care costs (both charges and payments) are collected for all persons for each medical event they experience in the year, including the amount from each payment source. Charges are the dollar amounts asked ("charge") for a service by a health care provider. This is often different from the actual payments made to providers. Expenditure estimates are based on payments, not charges. More specifically, expenditures in MEPS are comprised of direct payments for care provided during the year, including out-of-pocket payments and payments by private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and other sources. In addition to the tables, query tool, and publications below, person-level and event-level data files with health care expenditure variables can be downloaded for analysis.

Data tables: For tables specifically on health care expenditures, go to the Total Medical Expenditures, Expenditures by Medical Condition, and State-Level Medical Expenditures table series of the HC Summary Data Tables.

Analytic tools: You can use the MEPSnet/HC query tool to generate your own estimates for health care expenditures.

 AHRQ Podcasts: Healthcare 411 Series: The Nation's 10 Most Expensive Medical Conditions 00:53 (MM:SS)
Healthcare 411 Series: Report on the Cost of Having a Baby 00:51 (MM:SS)
Healthcare 411 Series: The Cost of Treating Adults with Diabetes 00:57 (MM:SS)