AHRQ-CENSUS BUREAU AGREEMENT ON ACCESS TO RESTRICTED MEPS DATA
AT FEDERAL STATISTICAL RESEARCH DATA CENTERS
AHRQ is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with
the Census Bureau to make AHRQ’s restricted MEPS data available to qualified
researchers through the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDC) network.
There are 33 FSRDC locations with additional locations soon to open. For more information about FSRDC locations, go
to https://www.census.gov/content/census/en/about/adrm/fsrdc/locations.html.
The restricted MEPS data that will be made available at the FSRDCs through this agreement are:
a. Household Component-Insurance Component linked file (1996–1999, 2001)
b. Nursing Home Component (1996)
c. Medical Provider Component (except directly identifiable data)
d. Two-Year, Two-Panel Files
e. Area Health Resources Files (county-, state-, and national-level data that can be linked to MEPS-HC)
f. MEPS Link Files to NHIS
Important note:
The MEPS Insurance Component List sample files, already available at FSRDCs,
are Census Bureau and Internal Revenue Service restricted data
(not AHRQ restricted). They are not part of this agreement and are still subject to the standard FSRDC
proposal process. Contact AHRQ at CFACTDC@AHRQ.HHS.GOV for details on additional
non-public MEPS data available for FSRDC use.
For researchers wanting to use AHRQ restricted data at one of the FSRDCs, the first step is to go through the
standard AHRQ Data Center applications process. For information on that
process, see the MEPS Web site at https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/onsite_datacenter.jsp.
AHRQ will handle all proposal review and disclosure avoidance review for FSRDC projects using AHRQ data.
Researchers wanting to use a FSRDC location for
their project will then be subject to the FSRDC proposal process, but will not have to meet Census Bureau standards,
just AHRQ standards. Census will start accepting proposals using
AHRQ restricted data beginning July 1, 2007. The standard AHRQ
Data Center fee will be waived but standard FSRDC access charges, if any, will apply.
All researchers wanting to use a FSRDC will need
to become Special Sworn Status (SSS) employees of the Census
Bureau—in case of incidental access to confidential Census
Bureau or Internal Revenue Service data while in an FSRDCs—and
will also be required to become National Center for Health Statistics
agents (as AHRQ data is based on the National Health Interview
Survey) and to take the appropriate training for both roles.
Researchers currently using the Rockville, Maryland AHRQ Data
Center will be able to transfer their research to a FSRDC site once they become
SSS employees. Contact the appropriate FSRDC administrator for more information on the SSS process.
Any proposals to use confidential data from both the FSRDC
and the AHRQ Data Center will be subject to the Census Bureau’s proposal process and standards and will also be reviewed by AHRQ,
and by the Internal Revenue Service if tax data are involved.
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