This file is a two-year longitudinal file derived from the respondents to the MEPS Panel 2 1997 sample. The persons on this data set represent those who were in the MEPS population for all or part of the 1997 - 1998 period. The file contains a weight variable (LONGWTP2) that, when applied to the persons who participated in both 1997 and 1998, will enable the user to make national estimates of person-level changes in selected variables (e.g., health insurance, health status, utilization and expenditures). In addition, LONGWTP2 can be used to develop cross-sectional type estimates for the civilian noninstitutionalized population in each year based on only the Panel 2 sample. To obtain analytic variables, the records on this file must be linked to the 1997 and 1998 MEPS public use data files (HC20 and HC28) using the sample person identifier (DUPERSID). Readme file
*The PDF version of the codebook is recommended for printing; the HTML version is database driven and lets you navigate quickly to details on each variable.
**Right-click on the data file link, then select Save Target As or Save Link As to download the file.
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