MEPS HC-034: 2001 P5R3/P6R1
Population Characteristics
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Center for Cost and Financing Studies
2101 East Jefferson Street, Suite 501
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 594-1406
TABLE OFCONTENTS
A. Data Use Agreement
B. Background
HouseholdComponent
2.0 Medical Provider Component
3.0 Insurance Component
4.0 Survey Management
C. Technical and Programming Information
1.0 General Information
2.0 Data File Information
2.1 Codebook Structure
2.2 Reserved Codes
2.3 Codebook Format
2.4 Variable Naming
2.5 File Contents
2.5.1 Survey Administration Variables
2.5.2 Demographic Variables
2.5.3 Health Status Variables
2.5.4 Employment Variables
2.5.5 Health Insurance Variables
3.0 Survey Sample Information
3.1 Sample Design and Response Rates
3.1.1 Panel 5
3.1.2 Panel 6
3.1.3 Combined Panel Response
3.2 Sample Weights
3.2.1 Person Level Weight
3.2.2 Family Level Weight
3.2.2.1 Definition of MEPS Families
3.2.2.2 Assignment of Weights
3.2.2.3 Instructions to Create Family Estimates
3.2.3 Relationship Between Person and Family Level Weights
3.3 Variance Estimation
D. Variable-Source Crosswalk
A. Data Use Agreement
Individual identifiers have been removed from the micro-data
contained in the files on this CD-ROM. Nevertheless, under sections 308 (d) and
903 (c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m and 42 U.S.C. 299 a-1),
data collected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and/or
the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) may not be used for any purpose
other than for the purpose for which they were supplied; any effort to determine
the identity of any reported cases is prohibited by law.
Therefore in accordance with the above referenced Federal
Statute, it is understood that:
| 1. |
No one is to use the data in this data set in any way except for
statistical reporting and analysis; and |
| 2. |
If the identity of any person or establishment should be discovered
inadvertently, then (a) no use will be made of this knowledge, (b) the
Director Office of Management AHRQ will be advised of this incident, (c)
the information that would identify any individual or establishment will
be safeguarded or destroyed, as requested by AHRQ, and (d) no one else
will be informed of the discovered identity; and |
| 3. |
No one will attempt to link this data set with individually identifiable
records from any data sets other than the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
or the National Health Interview Survey. |
By using these data you signify your agreement to comply with
the above stated statutorily based requirements with the knowledge that
deliberately making a false statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of
any department or agency of the Federal Government violates 18 U.S.C. 1001 and
is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 5 years in prison.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality requests that
users cite AHRQ and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey as the data source in
any publications or research based upon these data.
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B. Background
The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) provides
nationally representative estimates of health care use, expenditures, sources of
payment, and insurance coverage for the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized
population. MEPS is cosponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
MEPS is a family of three surveys. The Household Component
(HC) is the core survey and forms the basis for the Medical Provider Component (MPC)
and part of the Insurance Component (IC). 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, also known as NMES-1) was
conducted in 1977 and the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES-2) in 1987.
Since 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 advance these goals, MEPS includes linkage with the
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) - a survey conducted by NCHS 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
respondents’ medical providers, employers, and insurance providers.
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1.0 Household Component
The MEPS HC, a nationally representative survey of the U.S.
civilian non-institutionalized 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 2 ½-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. NHIS provides a nationally representative sample of the U.S. civilian
non-institutionalized population, with oversampling of Hispanics and blacks.
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2.0 Medical Provider Component
The MEPS MPC supplements and/or replaces 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 home
health agencies and pharmacies reported by HC respondents. Office-based
physicians, hospitals, and hospital physicians are also included in the MPC but
may be subsampled at various rates, depending on burden and resources, in
certain years.
Data are collected on medical and financial characteristics
of medical and pharmacy events reported by HC respondents. The MPC is conducted
through telephone interviews and record abstraction.
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3.0 Insurance Component
he 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, eligibility
requirements, 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 Bureau of the Census.
|
To provide an integrated picture of health insurance, data
collected from the first sampling frame (employers and insurance providers
identified by MEPS HC respondents) are linked back to data provided by those
respondents. Data from the two Census Bureau sampling frames are used to produce
annual national and State estimates of the supply and cost of private health
insurance available to American workers and to evaluate policy issues pertaining
to health insurance. National estimates of employer contributions to group
insurance from the MEPS IC are used in the computation of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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 follow-up for nonrespondents.
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4.0 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, microdata files and compendiums of tables. Data are released through
MEPSnet, an online interactive tool developed to give users the ability to
statistically analyze MEPS data in real time. Summary reports and compendiums of
tables are released as printed documents and electronic files. Microdata files
are released on CD-ROM and/or electronic files.
Selected printed documents and public use file data on
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)
Be sure to specify the AHRQ number of the document or CD-ROM
you are requesting.
Additional information on MEPS is available from the MEPS
project manager or the MEPS public use data manager at the Center for Cost and
Financing Studies, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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C. Technical Information
1.0 General Information
This documentation describes the sixth point in time data
file to be released from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household
Component (MEPS HC). Released as an ASCII file (with related SAS programming
statements), and a SAS transport dataset, this public use file provides
information on data collected on a nationally representative sample of the
civilian, non-institutionalized population of the United States during the early
part of 2001. The data consist of 2001 data obtained in Round 3 of Panel 5 and
Round 1 of Panel 6 of the MEPS Household Component and contains variables
pertaining to survey administration, demographics, employment, health status,
and health insurance.
The following documentation offers a brief overview of the
types and levels of data provided, the content and structure of the files, and
programming information. It contains the following sections:
- Survey Sample Information
- Variable/Questionnaire Crosswalk
A codebook of all the variables included on the 2001 point in
time data file is provided in a separate document.
MEPS
survey questionnaires, the Household
Survey Variable Locator, indicating the major MEPS
data items on public use files that have been released to date, and a catalog of
MEPS products are available on the MEPS web page (www.meps.ahrq.gov).
For more information on MEPS HC survey design, see S. Cohen,
1997; J. Cohen, 1997; and S. Cohen, 1996. For information on the MEPS MPC
design, see S. Cohen, 1998.
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2.0 Data File Information
This public use dataset contains variable and frequency
distributions for a total of 35,378 persons (11,109 from Panel 5 Round 3 and
24,269 from Panel 6 Round 1). This count includes all household survey
respondents who resided in eligible responding households. Of these persons,
34,173 were assigned a positive person level weight (10,589 from Panel 5 Round 3
and 23,584 from Panel 6 Round 1). For each variable both weighted and unweighted
frequencies are provided. In conjunction with the weight variable (WGTSP13)
provided on this file, data for these persons can be used to make estimates for
the civilian, noninstitutionalized U.S. population as of the first half of 2001.
The records on this file can be linked to all MEPS public use
data sets containing the same sample by the sample person identifier (DUPERSID).
Some analysts may wish to use the 2001 data contained on this file in concert
with previously released 2000 data to conduct longitudinal analysis. When using
data from two MEPS public use files for the same individuals, use the most
current MEPS weight and variance estimation variable to support the longitudinal
comparisons.
2.1 Codebook Structure
The codebook and data file sequence lists variables in the
following order:
- Unique person identifiers
- Health Insurance variables
- Weight and variance estimation variables
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2.2 Reserved Codes
The following reserved code values are used:
| VALUE DEFINITION |
| -1 INAPPLICABLE Question was not asked due to skip
pattern |
| -7 REFUSED Question was asked and
respondent refused to answer question |
| -8 DK Question was asked and
respondent did not know answer |
| -9 NOT ASCERTAINED Interviewer did not record the data |
| -10 HOURLY WAGE >= $57.69 Variable was top-coded for
confidentiality |
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2.3 Codebook Format
This codebook describes an ASCII data set and provides the
following programming identifiers for each variable:
| IDENTIFIER |
DESCRIPTION |
| Name |
Variable name (maximum of 8 characters) |
| Description |
Variable descriptor (maximum 40 characters) |
| Format |
Number of bytes |
| Type |
Type of data: numeric (indicated by NUM) or character (indicated by CHAR) |
| Start |
Beginning column position of variable in record |
| End |
Ending column position of variable in record |
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2.4 Variable Naming
In general, variable names reflect the content of the
variable, with an 8 character limitation. All of the variables on this file
(except some demographic variables and DUID, DUPERSID, PID, and KEYNESS) end in
"13" to denote they are combination Panel 6 Round 1/Panel 5 Round 3
variables. For edited variables the "13" is followed by an
"X" and are so noted in the variable label. Variables contained in
this delivery were derived either from the questionnaire itself or from the CAPI.
The source of each variable is identified in the section of the documentation
entitled "E. Variable-Source Crosswalk". Sources for each variable are
indicated in one of four ways: (1) variables derived from CAPI or assigned in
sampling are so indicated; (2) variables derived from complex algorithms
associated with reenumeration are labeled "RE Section"; (3) variables
that come from one or more specific questions have those numbers listed in the
"Source" column; (4) variables constructed from multiple questions
using complex algorithms are labeled "Constructed" in the
"Source" column.
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2.5 File Contents
2.5.1 Survey Administration Variables
The survey administration variables contain information
related to conducting the interview, household and family composition, and
person-level and RU-level status codes. Data for the survey administration
variables were derived from the sampling process, the CAPI programs, or were
computed based on information provided by the respondent in the reenumeration
section of the questionnaire. Most Survey Administration variables on this file
are asked during every round of the MEPS interview. Variables in this delivery
describe data for Panel 5 Round 3 and Panel 6 Round 1 in 2001.The variable PANEL13 indicates the panel from which the data
are derived. A value of 5 indicates Panel 5 Round 3 data and a value of 6
indicates Panel 6 Round 1 data.
Note that Round 3 of Panel 5 covers both the end of 2000 and
the beginning of 2001. (When possible, the variables were constructed to
represent data from the 2001 portion of Round 3.)
Dwelling Units, Reporting Units, and Families
The definition of Dwelling Units (DUs) in the MEPS Household
Survey is generally consistent with the definition employed for the National
Health Interview Survey. The dwelling unit ID (DUID) is a five-digit random ID
number assigned after the case was sampled for MEPS. The person number (PID)
uniquely identifies all persons within the dwelling unit. The variable DUPERSID
is a combination of the variables DUID and PID, thus uniquely identifies each
sampled person in MEPS.
A Reporting Unit (RU) is a person or group of persons in the
sampled dwelling unit who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, foster care
or other family association. Each RU is to be interviewed as a single entity for
MEPS. Thus, the RU serves chiefly as a family-based "survey
operations" unit rather than an analytic unit. Members of each RU within
the DU are identified by the variable RULETR13. Regardless of the legal status
of their association, two persons living together as a "family" unit
were treated as a single reporting unit if they chose to be so identified.
Examples of different types of reporting units are:
| 1. |
A married daughter and her husband living with her parents in the same
dwelling unit constitute a single reporting unit. |
| 2. |
A husband and wife and their unmarried daughter, age 18, who is living
away from home while at college constitute two reporting units. |
| 3. |
Three unrelated persons living in the same dwelling unit would each
constitute a distinct reporting unit, three reporting units in all. |
Unmarried college students less than 24 years of age who
usually live in the sampled household, but were living away from home and going
to school at the time of the MEPS interview, were treated as a Reporting Unit
separate from that of their parents for the purpose of data collection. The
variable RUSIZE13 indicates the number of persons in each RU, treating each
student as a single RU separate from their parents. Thus, students are not
included in the RUSIZE13 count of their parents’ RU. However, for many
analytic objectives, the student reporting units would be combined with their
parents' reporting unit, treating the combined entity as a single family. Family
identifier and size variables are described below and include students with
their parents’ reporting unit.
The variable FAMID13 identifies a family (i.e., persons
living together related to one another by blood, marriage, adoption, foster
care, or self-identified as a single unit plus related students who are living
away at post-secondary school) for each round. These family identifier variables
use a letter and a DU identifier to indicate a person’s family affiliation. In
order to identify a person’s family affiliation, users must create a unique
family identification variable by concatenating the DU identifier (DUID) and the
FAMID13 variable, as described in Section 3.2.2.3 Instructions to Create Family
Estimates.
The variable FAMSIZ13 indicates the number of persons
associated with a single family unit after students are linked to their
associated parent RUs for analytical purposes. Family-level analyses should use
the FAMSIZ13 variables. In a few cases, students were deleted from the file
because attempts to contact them were unsuccessful, and no data were collected
for them. However, these persons are accounted for in the FAMSIZ13 variable.
The family size (FAMSIZ13) and the reporting unit (RU) size
(RUSIZE13) counts may not be consistent with the count of records on the file.
There are some reporting units where the RU size variable (RUSIZE13) is not
equal to the number of people in that RU actually included on the file. This
occurs because people who did not respond for their entire period of eligibility
were not included on the file. In addition, for a number of these reporting
units, the reference person is not included on the file for this same reason.
The variable RURSLT13 indicates the RU response status for
Round 3 for the Panel 5 sample and Round 1 for the Panel 6 sample. The values
include the following:
| 60 |
Complete with RU member |
| 61 |
Complete with proxy--all RU members deceased on or
after 1/1/2001 |
| 62 |
Complete with proxy--all RU members
institutionalized or deceased on or
after 1/1/2001 |
| 63 |
Complete with proxy, other |
There are several other variables that characterize the
reporting unit. The variable RUCLAS13 indicates the RU classification. RUs are
classified for fielding purposes as 1 "Standard", 2 "New
RU", or 3 "Student RU". Standard RUs are the original RUs from
NHIS. A new RU is one which has been created when members of the household leave
the standard RU and are followed according to the rules of the survey. A student
RU is one in which an unmarried college student under 24 years of age is
considered a usual member of the household but was living away from home while
going to school and was treated as a Reporting Unit (RU) separate from that of
their parents for the purpose of data collection.
Reference Period Dates
The reference period is the period of time for which data
were collected in each round for each person. The reference period dates were
determined during the interview for each person by the CAPI program.The round-specific beginning reference period dates are
included for each person. These variables include BEGRFM13, BEGRFD13, and
BEGRFY13. The reference period for Panel 6 Round 1 for most persons identified
at NHIS began on January 1, 2001 and ended on the date of the Round 1 interview.
Persons who joined the RU after 1/1/2001 have their beginning reference date for
the round as the day they joined the RU.For Panel 5 Round 3 the reference period for most persons
began on the date of the previous round’s interview and ended on the date of
the current round’s interview. Persons who joined after the previous round’s
interview had their beginning reference date for the round set as the day they
joined the RU. Persons who were present only for the 2000 portion of Round 3 are
not included in this delivery.The dates of the interview and the ending reference period
dates are included for each person. These variables include RUENDM13, RUENDD13,
RUENDY13, ENDRFM13, ENDRFD13, and ENDRFY13. In general, the date of the
interview is the reference period end date for most persons. Note that the end
date of the reference period is prior to the date of the interview if the person
was deceased during the round, left the country, was institutionalized prior to
that round’s interview, or joined the military during the round and was not
living with someone else who was eligible. If a person left the RU and that
person was key and in-scope, the person was followed in the new RU to which he
or she moved and his or her reference period dates pertain to the new RU.
Reference Person Identifiers
The variable RNDREF13 identifies the reference person for the
RU. In general, the reference person is defined as the household member 16 years
of age or older who owns or rents the home. If more than one person meets this
description, the household respondent identifies one from among them. If the
respondent was unable to identify a person fitting this definition, the
questionnaire asked for the head of household and this person was then
considered the reference person for that RU. This information was collected in
the reenumeration section of the CAPI questionnaire.
Respondent Identifiers
The respondent is the person who answered the interview
questions for the reporting unit (RU). The round-specific variable RDRESP13
identifies the respondent. Only one respondent is identified for each RU. In
instances where the interview was completed in more than one session, only the
first respondent is indicated.There are two types of respondents. The respondent can be
either an RU member or a non-RU member proxy. The variable PROXY13 identifies
the type of respondent.
Person Status
A number of variables describe the various components
reflecting each person’s status for each round of data collection. These
variables provide information about a person’s in-scope status, keyness
status, eligibility status, and disposition status. These variables include:
INSCOP13, KEYNESS, and PSTAT13. These variables are set based on sampling
information and responses provided in the reenumeration section of the CAPI
questionnaire.Through the reenumeration section of the CAPI questionnaire,
each member of a reporting unit was classified as "key" or
"non-key", "in-scope" or "out-of-scope", and
"eligible" or "ineligible" for MEPS data collection. To be
included in the set of persons used in the derivation of MEPS person level
estimates, a person had to be a member of the civilian non-institutionalized
population for at least one day during 2001. Because a person’s eligibility
for the survey might have changed since the NHIS interview, a reenumeration of
household membership was conducted at the start of each round’s interview.
Only persons who were "in-scope" sometime during 2001,
"key", and responded for the full period in which they were in-scope
were assigned person level weights and thus are to be used in the derivation of
person level national estimates from the MEPS.
In-Scope
A person is considered as in-scope during a round if he or
she is a member of the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population at some
time during that round. The variable INSCOP13 indicates a person’s in-scope
status, specifically indicating whether a person was ever in-scope during the
2001 portion of the round.
Keyness
The term "keyness" is related to an individual’s
chance of being included in MEPS for purposes of making estimates about the U.
S. civilian non-institutionalized population. A person is key if that person is
linked for sampling purposes to the set of NHIS sampled households designated
for inclusion in MEPS. Specifically, a key person either was a member of an NHIS
household at the time of the NHIS interview, or was a family member who began
living with a member of such a household after being out-of-scope prior to
joining that member. (Examples of the latter situation include newborns and
persons returning from military service, an institution, or living outside the
United States.)A non-key person is one whose chance of selection for the
NHIS (and MEPS) was associated with a household eligible but not sampled for the
NHIS, and who later became a member of a MEPS reporting unit. MEPS data (e.g.,
utilization and income) were collected for the period of time a non-key person
was part of the sampled unit to provide information for family level analyses.
However, non-key persons who leave a sample household unaccompanied by a key,
in-scope member were not followed for subsequent interviews. Non-key individuals
do not receive person level sample weights and thus do not contribute to person
level national estimates. They may receive family level weights if they are a
member of a responding family.The variable KEYNESS indicates a person’s keyness status.
This variable is not round-specific. Instead, it is set at the time the person
enters MEPS, and the person’s keyness status never changes. Once a person is
determined to be key, that person will always be key.It should be pointed out that a person may be key even though
not part of the civilian, non-institutionalized portion of the U.S. population.
For example, a person in the military may have been living with his or her
civilian spouse and children in a household sampled for the NHIS. The person in
the military would be considered a key person for MEPS. However, such a person
would not be eligible to receive a person-level sample weight if he or she was
never in-scope during 2001. He or she may receive a family weight if a member of
a responding family.
Eligibility
The issue of a person’s eligibility for MEPS is a data
collection issue. Data are to be collected only for persons considered eligible
for MEPS.All key, in-scope persons of a sampled RU are eligible for
data collection. The only non-key persons eligible for data collection are those
who happen to be living in an RU with at least one key, in-scope person. Their
eligibility continues only for the time that they are living with at least one
such person. The only out-of-scope persons eligible for data collection are
those persons serving full-time on active duty in the military who were living
with key in-scope persons, and again only for the time they are living with such
a person.A person may be classified as eligible for an entire round or
for some part of a round. For persons who are eligible for only part of a round,
data are collected for that person only for the period of time for which that
person was classified as eligible.
Person Disposition Status
The variable PSTAT13 indicates a person’s response and
eligibility status. The PSTAT13 variable indicates the reasons for either
continuing data collection for a person or terminating data collection for each
person in the MEPS. Using this variable, one could identify persons who moved
during the reference period, died, were born, were institutionalized or were in
the military.
The following codes specify the value labels for the PSTAT13
variables. Note that some values for PSTAT13 are round-specific, as indicated in
the labels.
| 11. |
Person in original RU, not full-time active
military duty |
| 12. |
Person in original RU, full-time active military
duty, out-of-scope for whole reference period |
| 13. |
Person is a full-time student living away from
home, but associated with sampled RU |
| 14. |
Person is full-time active military duty during
round and is in-scope for part of the reference period and is in the RU
at the end of the reference period |
| 22. |
Person leaves a health care institution and
rejoins the community - round 3 only |
| 23. |
Person leaves a health care institution, goes into
community and then dies - round 3 only |
| 31. |
Person from original RU, dies during reference
period |
| 32. |
Person entered health care institution during
reference period |
| 33. |
Person entered non-health care institution during
reference period |
| 34. |
Person moved from original RU, outside US (not as
student) |
| 35. |
Person moved from original RU, to a military
facility while on full-time active military duty |
| 41. |
Person moved from the original RU, to new RU
within US (new RUs include RUs originally classified as "Student
RU" but which converted to "New RU") |
| 42. |
Person joins RU and is not full-time military
during round or joins RU and is in the military the entire round |
| 44. |
Person leaves an RU and joins an existing RU and
is not both in the military and coded as in-scope during the round |
| 51. |
Person is newborn in reference period |
Geographic Variables
The variable REGION13 indicates the Census region for the RU.
MSA13 indicates whether or not the RU is found in a metropolitan statistical
area. These variables indicate the geographic location of the reporting unit.
The region variable is coded according to the Census regions, and the MSA13
variable reflects the June 30, 1993 definition of metropolitan statistical
areas.
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2.5.2 Demographic Variables
These variables provide information about the demographic
characteristics of each person. As noted below, some variables have edited and
imputed values. Values of most demographic variables on this file are obtained
during each round of the MEPS interview. These variables describe data for Panel
5, Round 3 and Panel 6, Round 1, as well as a number of characteristics that are
not round specific.
Sex
The variable SEX contains data on the sex of each RU member
(SEX), as determined during the NHIS interview; it was verified and, if
necessary, corrected during each MEPS interview. The data for new RU members
(persons who were not members of the RU at the time of the NHIS interview) were
also obtained during each MEPS Round. When sex of the RU member was not
available from the NHIS interview and was not ascertained during one of the
subsequent MEPS interviews, it was assigned in the following way. The person’s
first name was used to assign sex, if obvious. If the person’s first name
provided no indication of gender, then family relationships were reviewed. If
neither of these approaches made it possible to determine the individual’s
sex, sex was randomly assigned.
Age
Date of birth and age for each RU member were asked or
verified during each MEPS interview (DOBMM, DOBYY, AGE13X). If date of birth was
available, age was calculated based on the difference between date of birth and
date of interview. Inconsistencies between the calculated age and the age
reported during the CAPI interview were reviewed and resolved. For purposes of
confidentiality, the variable AGE13X was top coded at 90 years, and DOBYY bottom
coded at 1911. When date of birth was not provided but age was (from either the
MEPS or the NHIS data), the month and year of birth were assigned randomly from
among the possible valid options. For any cases still not accounted for, age was
imputed using (1) the mean age difference between MEPS participants with certain
family relationships (where available) or (2) the mean age value for MEPS
participants. For example, a mother’s age is imputed as her child’s age plus
the mean age difference between MEPS mothers and their children, or a wife’s
age is imputed as the husband’s age plus the mean age difference between MEPS
wives and husbands.
Race, Race/Ethnicity, Hispanic Ethnicity, and Hispanic
Ethnicity Group
Race (RACEX) and Hispanic ethnicity (HISPANX) were asked for
each RU member during the MEPS interview. If this information was not obtained
in Round 1, the questions were asked in subsequent Rounds. When race and/or
ethnicity was not reported in the interview, values for these variables were
obtained based on the following priority order. When available, they were
obtained from the originally collected NHIS data. If not ascertained, the race,
and/or ethnicity were assigned based on relationship to other members of the DU
using a priority ordering that gave precedence to blood relatives in the
immediate family. The variable RACETHNX indicating both race and ethnicity
(e.g., with categories such as "Hispanic" and "black but not
Hispanic") reflects the imputations done for RACEX and HISPANX. The
specific Hispanic ethnicity group is given in the unedited variable HISPCAT.Note: starting with Panel 5 Round 3 and Panel 6 Round 1, the
questions asking about race and ethnicity were modified to allow coding of
multiple races and multiple Hispanic places of origin or ancestry. If more than
one race was recorded, then a follow-up question asked which race
"best" represents the person’s racial background. Thus, persons new
to MEPS in Panel 5 Round 3 and all persons part of Panel 6 Round 1 used the new
source questions in constructing RACEX, HISPANX and HISPCAT. Those persons who
participated in MEPS in Panel 5 Round 1 or 2 used the old questions and method
of construction of the race and ethnicity variables.The ranges of RACEX, HISPANX, and RACETHNX delivered in this
public use file remain the same as in previous point in time data files. HISPCAT
was modified to collapse persons coded with multiple sources of national origin
or ancestry into the "Other Latin American/Other Spanish" category.
The range for HISPCAT was expanded to include "91 Other".
Student Status and Educational Attainment
The variable FTSTD13X indicates whether the person was a
full-time student at the interview date. This variable has valid values for all
persons between the ages of 17 - 23 inclusive.The variables indicating completed years of education when
first entered MEPS (EDUCYR) and highest degree when first entered MEPS (HIDEG)
were obtained from questions RE 103-105. For Panels 5 and 6 (panels from which
data are based) questions RE103-105 were asked only when persons first entered
MEPS, which was Round 1 for most people.For the completed years of education variable (EDUCYR),
children who are 5 years of age or older when they first entered MEPS and who
never attended school were coded as 0; children under the age of 5 years were
coded as -1 "Inapplicable" regardless of whether or not they attended
school.The highest degree (HIDEG) was obtained from two questions:
high school diploma (RE 104) and highest degree (RE 105). Persons under 16 years
of age when they first entered MEPS were coded as 8 "Under 16
-Inapplicable". In cases where the response to the highest degree question
was "no degree" and highest grade was 13 through 17, the variable was
coded as 3 "high school diploma". If highest grade completed for those
with a "no degree" response was "refused" or "don’t
know", the variable was coded as 1 "no degree". The user should
note that the EDUCYR and HIDEG variables are unedited variables and minimal data
cleaning was performed on these variables. Therefore, discrepancies in data may
remain for these two sets of variables. Decisions as to how to handle these
discrepancies are left to the analyst.
Marital Status and Spouse ID
Current marital status was collected and/or updated during
each Round of the MEPS interview. This information was obtained in RE13 and RE97
and is reported as MARRY13X. Persons under the age of 16 were coded as 6
"under 16 - inapplicable". In instances where there were discrepancies
between the marital status of two individuals within a family, other
person-level variables were reviewed to determine the edited marital status for
each individual. For example, in Panel 5 Round 3, when one spouse was reported
as married and the other spouse reported as widowed, the data were reviewed to
determine if one partner should be coded as 8 "widowed in Round".Four edits were performed to ensure minimal consistency
across rounds for the Panel 5 Round 3 data. First, a person could not be coded
as "Never Married" after previously being coded as any other marital
status (e.g. "Widowed"). Second, a person could not be coded as
"Under 16 - Inapplicable" after being previously coded as any other
marital status. Third, a person could not be coded as "Married in
Round" after being coded as "Married" in the Round immediately
preceding. Fourth, a person could not be coded as an "in Round" code
(e.g., "widowed in Round") in two subsequent Rounds.When marital status was missing in the preceding round and
provided in the current round, then the person was coded to the “in round”
marital state. For example, if marital status was not available from the
National Health Interview Survey, and the person’s marital status was reported
as married in round 1 of MEPS, then the person would be coded as “7 married in
round” for round 1 of MEPS.The person identifier for each individual’s spouse is
reported in SPOUID13. The variable is set to the PID (within each family) of the
person identified as the spouse during the round. If no spouse was identified in
the household, the variable was coded as 995 "no spouse in house".
Those with unknown marital status are coded as 996 "marital status
unknown". Persons under the age of 16 are coded as 997 "Less than 16
years old".The SPOUIN13 variable indicates whether a person’s spouse
was present in the RU during the Round. If the person had no spouse in the
household, the value was coded as 2. For persons under the age of 16 the value
was coded as 3. The SPOUID13 and SPOUIN13 variables were obtained from RE76 and
RE77, where the respondent was asked to identify how each pair of persons in the
household was related. Analysts should note that this information was collected
in a set of questions separate from the questions that asked about marital
status. While editing was performed to ensure that SPOUID13 and SPOUIN13 are
consistent within each Round, there was no consistency check between these
variables and marital status in a given Round. Apparent discrepancies between
marital status and spouse information may be due to any of the following causes:
1) Ambiguity as to when during a Round a change in marital status occurred. This
is a result of relationship information being asked for all persons living in
the household at any time during the Round, while marital status is asked as of
the interview date (e.g., If one spouse died during the reference period, the
surviving spouse’s marital status would be "widowed in Round", but
SPOUIN13 and SPOUID13 for the same round would indicate that a spouse was
present); 2) Valid discrepancies in the case of persons who are married but not
living with their spouse, or separating but still living together; or 3)
Discrepancies which cannot be explained for either of the previous reasons.
Military Service and Service Era
Information on active duty military status was collected
during each Round of the MEPS interview. Persons currently on full-time active
duty status are identified in the variable ACTDTY13. Those under 16 years of age
were coded as 3 "under 16- inapplicable" and those over the age of 59
were coded as 4 "over 59-inapplicable".
Relationship to the Reference Person within Reporting
Units
For each reporting unit (RU), the person who owns or rents
the dwelling unit is usually defined as the reference person. For student RUs,
the student is defined as the reference person. (For additional information on
reference persons, see the documentation on Reference Person Identifiers in the
survey administration section.) The variable RFREL13X indicates the relationship
of each individual to the reference person of the reporting unit (RU) in a given
round. For the reference person, this variable has the value "self";
for all other persons in the RU, relationship to the reference person is
indicated by codes representing "husband/spouse,"
"wife/spouse," "son," "daughter," "female
partner," "male partner," etc. A code of 91, meaning "other
related," was used to indicate rarely observed relationship descriptions
such as "mother of partner. If the relationship of an individual to the
reference person was not ascertained during the Round-specific interview,
relationships between other RU members were used, where possible, to assign a
relationship to the reference person. If MEPS data were not sufficient to
identify the relationship of an individual to the reference person, relationship
variables from the NHIS data were used to assign a relationship. In the event
that a meaningful value could not be determined or data were missing, the
relationship variable was assigned a missing value code.
2.5.3 Health Status Variables
Health Status variables involved the construction of
person-level variables based on information collected in the Condition
Enumeration and Health Status sections of the questionnaire. The majority of
Health Status questions were initially asked at the family level to ascertain if
anyone in the household had a particular problem or limitation. These were
followed up with questions to determine which household member had each problem
or limitation. Logical edits were performed in constructing the person-level
variables to ensure that family-level and person-level values were consistent.
Particular attention was given to cases where missing values were reported at
the family level to ensure that appropriate information was carried to the
person level. Inapplicable cases occurred when a question was never asked
because of a skip patterns in the survey (e.g., individuals who were 13 years of
age or older were not asked some follow-up verification questions). Inapplicable
cases are coded as -1. In addition, for all variables, deceased persons were
coded as inapplicable and received a code of -1.
Perceived Health Status and Mental Health Status
Perceived health status (RTHLTH13) and mental health status
(MNHLTH13) were collected in the Condition Enumeration section. These questions
(CE01 and CE02) asked the respondent to rate the physical and mental health each
person in the family according to the following categories: excellent, very
good, good, fair, and poor. No editing was done to these variables. The
corresponding dichotomous variables RTPROX13 and MNPROX13 each indicate whether
the ratings of physical and mental health, respectively, were provided by
oneself or by someone else.
IADL and ADL Help/Supervision
The Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Help or
Supervision variable (IADLHP13) was constructed from a series of three
questions. The initial question (HE01) determined if anyone in the family
received help or supervision with IADLs such as using the telephone, paying
bills, taking medications, preparing light meals, doing laundry, or going
shopping. If the response was "yes", a follow-up question (HE02) was
asked to determine which household member received this help or supervision. For
persons under age 13, a final verification question (HE03) was asked to confirm
that the IADL help or supervision was the result of an impairment or physical or
mental health problem. If the response to the final verification question was
"no", IADLHP13 was coded as "no" for persons under the age
of 13.If no one in the family was identified as receiving help or
supervision with IADLs, all members of the family were coded as receiving no
IADL help or supervision. In cases where the response to the family-level
question was "don’t know", "refused", or otherwise
missing, all persons were coded according to the family-level response. In cases
where the response to the family-level question (HE01) was "yes" but
no specific individuals were identified in the follow-up question as having IADL
difficulties, all persons were coded as "don’t know" (-8).The Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Help or Supervision
variable (ADLHLP13) was constructed in the same manner as IADLHP13, but using
questions HE04-HE06. Coding conventions for missing data were the same as for
IADLHP13.
Functional Limitations
A series of questions pertained to functional limitations,
defined as difficulty in performing certain specific physical actions. WLKLIM13
was the filter question. It was derived from a question (HE09) that was asked at
the family level: Does anyone in the family have difficulties walking, climbing
stairs, grasping objects, reaching overhead, lifting, bending or stooping, or
standing for long periods of time? If the answer was no then all family members
were coded as "no" (2) on WLKLIM13. If the answer was "yes",
then the specific persons who had any of these difficulties were identified and
coded as "yes" (1) on WLKLIM13, and remaining family members were
coded as "no". If the response to the family-level question was
"don’t know" (-8), "refused" (-7), "missing"
(-9), or "inapplicable" (-1), then the corresponding missing value
code was applied to each family member’s value for WLKLIM13. If the answer to
HE09 was "yes", but no specific individual was named as experiencing
such difficulties, then each family member was assigned -8 for WLKLIM13.
Deceased respondents were assigned a -1 code ("inapplicable") for
WLKLIM13.
If any family member was coded "yes" to WLKLIM13, a
subsequent series of questions was administered. The series of questions for
which WLKLIM13 served as a filter was as follows:
| LFTDIF13 - difficulty lifting 10 pounds |
| STPDIF13 - difficulty walking up 10 steps |
| WLKDIF13 - difficulty walking 3 blocks |
| MILDIF13 - difficulty walking a mile |
| STNDIF13 - difficulty standing 20 minutes |
| BENDIF13 - difficulty bending or stooping |
| RCHDIF13 - difficulty reaching over head |
| FNGRDF13 - difficulty using fingers to grasp |
The series of questions was asked separately for each person
who was coded "yes" to WLKLIM13. The series of questions was not asked
for other individual family members for whom WLKLIM13 was "no". In
addition, this series was not asked about family members who were less than 13
years of age, regardless of their status on WLKLIM13. These questions were not
asked about deceased family members. In such cases (i.e., WLKLIM13 = 2, or age
< 13, or PSTATS13 = 31), each question in the series was coded as
"inapplicable" (-1). Finally, if responses to WLKLIM13 were
"refused" (-7), "don’t know" (-8), "not
ascertained" (-9), or otherwise inapplicable (-1), then each question in
this series was coded as "inapplicable" (-1).Analysts should note that, for WLKLIM13, there was no minimum
age criterion that was used to determine a skip pattern, whereas, for the
subsequent series of questions, persons less than 13 years old were skipped and
coded as inapplicable. Therefore, it is possible for someone aged 12 or less to
have a code of 1 ("yes") on WLKLIM13, and also to have codes of
inapplicable on the subsequent series of questions.
Use of Assistive Technology and Social/Recreational
Limitations
The variables indicating use of assistive technology
(AIDHLP13, from question HE07) and social/recreational limitations (SOCLIM13,
from question HE22) were collected initially at the family level. If there was a
"yes" response to the family-level question, a second question
identified the specific individual(s) to whom the "yes" response
pertained. Each individual identified as having the difficulty was coded
"yes" on the appropriate variable; all remaining family members were
coded "no". If the family-level response was "don’t know",
"refused", or otherwise missing, all persons were coded with the
family-level response. In cases where the family-level response was
"yes" but no specific individual was identified as having difficulty,
all family members were coded as "don’t know".
Work, Housework, and School Limitations
The variable indicating any limitation in work, housework, or
school (ACTLIM13) was constructed using questions HE19-HE20. Specifically,
information was collected initially at the family level. If there was a
"yes" response to the family-level question (HE19), a second question
(HE20) identified the specific individual(s) to whom the "yes"
response pertained. Each individual identified as having a limitation was coded
"yes" on ACTLIM13; all remaining family members were coded
"no". If the family-level response was "don’t know",
"refused", or otherwise missing, all persons were coded with the
family-level response. In cases where the family-level response was
"yes" but no specific individual was identified as having difficulty,
all family members were coded as "don’t know" (-8). Persons less
than five years old were coded as "inapplicable" (-1) on ACTLIM13.If ACTLIM13 was "yes" and the person was 5 years of
age or older, a follow-up question (HE20A) was asked to identify the specific
limitation or limitations for each person. These included working at a job
(WRKLIM13), doing housework (HSELIM13), or going to school (SCHLIM13).
Respondents could answer "yes" to each activity; one person could thus
report limitation in multiple activities. WRKLIM13, HSELIM13, and SCHLIM13 have
values of "yes" or "no" only if ACTLIM13 was
"yes"; each variable was coded as "inapplicable" (-1) if
ACTLIM13 was "no", "refused", or otherwise missing. When
ACTLIM13 was "don’t know", these variables were all coded as
"don’t know". If a person was under 5 years old or was deceased,
WRKLIM13, HSELIM13, and SCHLIM13 were each coded as "inapplicable"
(-1).
A second question (UNABLE13) asked if the person was
completely unable to work at a job, do housework, or go to school. This question
was asked only of the same set of respondents who provided data on WRKLIM13,
HSELIM13, and SCHLIM13. Therefore, those respondents who were coded
"no" on ACTLIM13, or were under 5 years of age, or were deceased, were
coded as "inapplicable" (-1) on UNABLE13. UNABLE13 was asked once for
whichever set of WRKLIM13, HSELIM13, and SCHLIM13 the respondent had
limitations; if a respondent was limited in more than one of these three
activities, UNABLE13 did not specify if the respondent was completely
unable to perform all of them, or only some of them.
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Cognitive Limitations
The variable COGLIM13 was collected at the family level as a
three-part question (HE24-01 to HE24-03) indicating if any of the adults in the
family (1) experience confusion or memory loss, (2) have problems making
decisions, or (3) require supervision for their own safety. If a "yes"
response was obtained to any item, the persons affected were identified in HE25
and COGLIM13 was coded as "yes". Remaining family members not
identified were coded as "no" for COGLIM13.If responses to HE24-01 through HE24-03 were all
"no", or if two of three were "no" and the remaining was
"don't know", "refused", or otherwise missing, all family
members were coded as "no". If responses to the three questions were
combinations of "don't know", "refused", and missing, all
persons were coded as "don't know". If the response to any of the
three questions was "yes" but no individual was identified in HE25,
all persons were coded as "don’t know".
COGLIM13 reflects whether any of the three component
questions is "yes". Respondents with one, two, or three specific
cognitive limitations cannot be distinguished. In addition, because the question
asked specifically about "adult" family members, all persons less than
18 years of age are coded as "inapplicable" (-1) on this question.
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2.5.4 Employment Variables
Employment questions were asked of all persons 16 years and
older at the time of the interview. Employment variables consist of person-level
indicators such as employment status and job-related variables such as hourly
wage. All job-specific variables refer to a person’s current main job. The
current main job, defined by the respondent, indicates the main
source of employment.Employment variables included on the Panel 5 Round 3/Panel 6
Round 1 2001 release are: EMPST13, HRWAG13X, HRWGRD13, HRWAY13, HOUR13, HELD13X,
OFFER13X, NUMEMP13 and SELFCM13. Most employment variables pertain to status as
of the date of the interview.With the exception of health insurance held or offered from a
current main job, no attempt has been made to logically edit any employment
variables. When missing, values were imputed for certain persons’ hourly wage;
however, there was no editing performed on any values reported by the
respondent. Hourly wages greater than or equal to $57.69 were top-coded to –10.
The number of employees variable was top-coded at 500.
Employment Status (EMPST13)
Employment status was asked for all persons aged 16 or older.
Responses to the employment status question were: "currently employed"
if the person had a job at the interview date, "has a job to return
to" if the person did not work during the reference period but had a job to
return to as of the interview date, "employed during the reference
period" if the person had no job at the interview date but did work during
2001, and "not employed with no job to return to" if the person did
not have a job at the interview date, did not work during the reference period,
and did not have a job to return to. These responses are mutually exclusive. A
current main job was defined for persons reporting that they were currently
employed and who identified a current main job, and for persons who reported and
identified a job to return to. Therefore, job-specific information such as
hourly wage exists for persons not presently working at the interview date but
who have a job to return to.
Hourly wage (HRWAG13X, HRWGRD13, and HRWAY13)
Hourly wage was asked of all persons who reported a current
main job that was not self-employment (SELFCM13). For reasons of
confidentiality, the hourly wage variable (HRWAG13X) was top-coded. A value of
–10 indicates that the hourly wage was greater than or equal to $57.69. The
hourly wage on this file (HRWAG13X) should be considered along with its
accompanying variables HRWGRD13 and HRWAY13. HRWGRD13 is a flag that indicates
the round in which the reported hourly wage was collected. This flag is always
set to "1" for people who are a part of Panel 6 because the reported
hourly wage is always from Round 1 as only Round 1 information is reported on
this file. People who are a part of Panel 5 can have a current main job from a
previous round and HRWGRD13 indicates the round in which the wage information
was collected. For Round 3 current main jobs that continue as the current main
job from Round 1, HRWGRD13 is "1". For Round 3 current main jobs that
continue as the current main job from Round 2 (but not Round 1), HRWGRD13 is
"2". For Round 3 current main jobs that are identified as current main
for the first time in Round 3, HRWGRD13 is "3".For persons who did not indicate a wage amount but who did
indicate a range into which the hourly wage falls, the reported hourly wage
(HRWAG13X) is the median within that range. The medians were calculated using
actual wages reported from the same round by persons of the same gender
reporting hourly wages within each age range category. In some cases,
particularly in the low wage range, gender was not used in the calculation of
the median wage in order to provide a large enough base.HRWAY13 indicates how the corresponding HRWAG13X was
constructed. Hourly wage was derived, as applicable, from a large number of
source variables. In the simplest case, hourly wage was reported directly by the
respondent. For other persons, construction of the hourly wage was based upon
their salary, the time period on which the salary was based, and the number of
hours worked per time period. If the number of hours worked per time period was
not available, a value of 40 hours per week was assumed, as identified in the
HRWAY13 variable.
Health Insurance (HELD13X and OFFER13X)
There are two employment-related
health insurance measures included in this release: health insurance
held from a current main job
(HELD13X) and health insurance offered from a current main job (OFFER13X).
The held and offer variables were logically edited using health insurance
information not available for public release.Persons under age 16
as well as persons aged 16 and older who
do not hold a current main job or who are self-employed with no employees
are coded as "inapplicable" for both the health insurance-related
employment variables.HELD13X is "yes" if the person reports
having insurance coverage from the employer or union at the current
main job and that
coverage provides hospital/physician or Medigap benefits (as long
as the person is not self-employed with no employees). HELD13X is
also "yes" if the
person’s current main job is with the armed forces.HELD13X
is "no" if the person either reported that
insurance is not obtained through the current main job or reported
insurance and then disavowed it. To disavow insurance is to initially
report it but then to
deny that it is provided later in the interview, or to confirm it
but indicate that it does not include hospital/physician or Medigap
benefits. As noted above,
this does not apply to self-employed persons with no employees (always
"inapplicable") and those with a current main job in the armed forces
(always "yes").OFFER13X is always coded as "yes" if
HELD13X is
"yes". In addition, except for certain self-employed persons with
OFFER13X set to "inapplicable (see above), OFFER13X is coded
as
"yes" if insurance was offered through the employer or union at the
job. OFFER13X is "no" when HELD13X equals "no" and
insurance was not offered by the employer or union at the job.As
indicated above, information collected in the health
insurance section of the interview was considered in the construction
of HELD13X and OFFER13X. For example, several persons indicated in
the employment section
of the interview that they held health insurance through a current
main job and then denied this coverage later in the health insurance
section. Such people
were coded as "no" for HELD13X. Due to questionnaire skip
patterns, the value for HELD13X was considered in constructing the
OFFER13X variable. For
example, if a person responded that health insurance was held from
a current main job, they were skipped past the question relating
to whether health
insurance was offered at that job. If the person later disavowed
this insurance in the health insurance section of the questionnaire,
we would not be able to
ascertain whether they were offered a policy. These individuals are
coded as -9 for OFFER13X.
Hours (HOUR13)
HOUR13 is the number of hours worked per week.
Number of Employees (NUMEMP13)
Due to confidentiality concerns, the variable indicating the
number of employees at the establishment (NUMEMP13) has been top coded at 500 or
more employees. NUMEMP13 indicates the number of employees at the location of
the person’s current main job. For persons who reported a categorical size, we
report a median estimated size from within the reported range.
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2.5.5 Health Insurance Variables
Constructed and edited variables are provided that indicate
any coverage during the MEPS Panel 6 Round 1 and Panel 5 Round 3 interviews for
the sources of health insurance coverage collected during the MEPS interview.
With the exception of PRIV13, the insurance variables for the Panel 6 Round 1
observations have been edited. For both the Panel 6 Round 1 sample and the Panel
5 Round 3 sample, minimal editing was performed on the Medicaid and Medicare
variables to assign persons to coverage from these sources. For TRICARE coverage
(TRINW13X), persons who were over age 65 had their reported TRICARE coverage
overturned. As mentioned above, private insurance coverage was unedited and
unimputed for Panel 6 Round 1. For Panel 5 Round 3, most of the insurance
variables have been logically edited to address issues that arose during Rounds
2 and 3 when reviewing insurance reported in earlier rounds. One edit corrects
for possible respondent confusion with respect to a question about covered
benefits asked of respondents who reported a change in their private health
insurance plan name. Additional edits were performed to address issues of
missing data on the time period of coverage. Note that the Medicare and TRICARE
variables indicate coverage at the time of the Panel 6 Round 1 or Panel 5 Round
3 interview dates. The private coverage and other public insurance variables
indicate coverage at any time during Panel 6 Round 1 or Panel 5 Round 3.Public sources include Medicare, TRICARE, Medicaid, and other
public hospital/physician coverage. State-specific program participation in
non-comprehensive coverage (STPRG13) was also identified but is not considered
health insurance for the purposes of this survey.
Medicare
Medicare (MCARE13) coverage was edited (MCARE13X) for persons
age 65 or over. Within this age group, individuals were assigned Medicare
coverage if:They answered yes to a follow-up question on whether or
not they received Social Security benefits; orThey were covered by Medicaid, other public
hospital/physician coverage or Medigap coverage; orTheir spouse was age 65 or older and covered by
Medicare; or
They reported TRICARE coverage.
Medicaid and Other Public
Hospital/Physician Coverage
Questions about other public hospital/physician coverage were
asked in an attempt to identify Medicaid recipients who may not have recognized
their coverage as Medicaid. These questions were asked only if a respondent did
not report Medicaid directly. Respondents reporting other public
hospital/physician coverage were asked follow-up questions to determine if their
coverage was through a specific Medicaid HMO or if it included some other
managed care characteristics. Respondents who identified managed care from
either path were asked if they paid anything for the coverage and/or if a
government source paid for the coverage.The Medicaid variables (MCAID13) have been edited (MCAID13X)
to include persons who paid nothing for their other public hospital/physician
insurance when such coverage was through a Medicaid HMO or reported to include
some other managed care characteristics.
To assist users in further editing sources of insurance, this
file contains variables constructed from the other public hospital/physician
series that measure whether:
- The respondent reported some type of managed care and paid something for
the coverage, Other Public A Insurance (OTPUBA13); and
|
- The respondent did not report any managed care, Other Public B Insurance
(OTPUBB13).
|
The variables OTPUBA13 and OTPUBB13 are provided only to
assist in editing and should not be used to make separate insurance estimates
for these types of insurance categories.
Any Public Insurance in Round 3/Round 1
The file also includes a summary measure that indicates
whether or not a sample person has any public insurance during the early part of
2001 (PUB13X). Persons identified as covered by public insurance are those
reporting coverage under TRICARE, Medicare, Medicaid or other public
hospital/physician programs. Persons covered only by state-specific programs
that did not provide comprehensive coverage (STPRG13), for example, Maryland
Kidney Disease Program, were not considered to have public coverage when
constructing the variable PUB13X.
Private Insurance
Variables identifying private insurance in general (PRIV13)
and specific private insurance sources such as employer/union group insurance
(PRIEU13); non-group insurance (PRING13); and other group insurance (PRIOG13)
were constructed. Private insurance sources identify coverage in effect at any
time during the early part of 2001. Separate variables identify covered persons
and policyholders (policyholder variables begin with the letter "H",
e.g., HPRIEU13). These variables indicate coverage or policyholder status within
a source and do not distinguish between persons who are covered or policyholders
on one or more policy within a given source. In some cases, the respondent was
unable to characterize the source of insurance (PRIDK13). Covered persons (but
not policyholders) are identified when the policyholder is living outside the RU
(PRIOUT13). An individual was considered to have private health coverage if, at
a minimum, that coverage provided benefits for hospital and physician services
(including Medigap coverage). Sources of insurance with missing information
regarding the type of coverage were assumed to contain hospital/physician
coverage. Persons without private hospital/physician insurance were not counted
as privately insured.Health insurance through a job or union (PRIEU13, PRIS13) was
initially asked about in the Employment Section of the interview and later
confirmed in the Health Insurance Section. Respondents also had an opportunity
to report employer and union group insurance (PRIEU13) for the first time in the
Health Insurance Section, but this insurance was not linked to a specific job.All insurance reported to be through a job classified as
self-employed with firm size of 1 (PRIS13) was initially reported in the
Employment Section and verified in the Health Insurance Section. Unlike the
other employment-related variable (PRIEU13), self-employed with firm size of 1
(PRIS13) insurance could not be reported in the Health Insurance Section for the
first time. The variable PRIS13 has been constructed to allow users to determine
if the insurance should be considered employment-related.Private insurance that was not employment-related (PRING13,
PRIOG13, PRIDK13, and PRIOUT13) was reported in the Health Insurance Section
only.
Any Insurance in Round 3 / Round 1
The file also includes a summary measure that indicates
whether or not a sample person has any insurance during the early part of 2001
(INSRD13X). Persons identified as insured are those reporting coverage under
TRICARE, Medicare, Medicaid or other public hospital/physician or private
hospital/physician insurance (including Medigap plans). A person is considered
uninsured if not covered by one of these insurance sources.
Persons covered only by state-specific programs that provide
non-comprehensive coverage (STPRG13), for example, Maryland Kidney Disease
Program, and those without hospital/physician benefits (for example, private
insurance for dental or vision care only, accidents or specific diseases) were
not considered to have public coverage when constructing the variable INSRD13X.
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3.0 Survey Sample Information
3.1 Sample Design and Response Rates
The MEPS is designed to produce estimates at the national and
regional level over time for the civilian non-institutionalized population of
the United States and some subpopulations of interest. Data are collected for
each MEPS panel to cover a two-year period. MEPS Panel 5 spans the two calendar
years 2000 and 2001 while MEPS Panel 6 spans 2001 and 2002. As described
previously, this file consists of the subset of data from the fifth and sixth
MEPS panels covering approximately the first half of calendar year 2001. More
specifically, data from the 2001 portion of the third round of data collection
for the MEPS Panel 5 sample are pooled with data from the first round of data
collection for the MEPS Panel 6 sample (illustrated below).
301 Moved Permanently
301 Moved Permanently
3.1.1 Panel 5
For MEPS Panel 5, 5,357 households were fielded in 2000, a
nationally representative subsample of the households responding to the 1999
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Similar to the earlier MEPS panels, the
Panel 5 sample reflects the oversampling of Hispanics and Black households
resulting from the NHIS sample design. Hispanic households were oversampled at a
rate of roughly 2 to 1, while the oversampling rate for Black households was
roughly 1.5 to 1.
The overall MEPS Panel 5 response rate at the end of round 3
(when data were collected for the first part of 2001) was 68.3 percent. This
overall rate reflects response to both the 1999 NHIS interview and the MEPS
interviews for rounds 1-3.
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3.1.2 Panel 6
For MEPS Panel 6, 10,651 households were fielded in 2001, a
nationally representative subsample of the households responding to the 2000
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). As described above for all previous
MEPS samples, the Panel 6 sample reflects the oversampling of Hispanics and
Black households for the NHIS.
The overall MEPS Panel 6 response rate at the end of round 1
(which collects data for the first part of 2001) was 72.9 percent. This overall
rate reflects response to the 2000 NHIS interview and the MEPS round 1
interview.
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3.1.3 Combined Panel Response
A pooled response rate for the survey respondents in this
data set is obtained by taking a weighted average of the panel specific response
rates. The Panel 6 response rate was weighted by a factor of 2/3 while that of
Panel 5 by a factor of 1/3, reflecting the relative sample sizes of the two
panels. The resulting pooled response rate for the combined panels is 71.4
percent.
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3.2 Sample Weights
The sample weights provided in this file can be used to
produce estimates for the U.S. civilian, non-institutionalized population and
subgroups of this population based on the sample data. Two weights are provided:
a person level weight and a family level weight.
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3.2.1 Person Level Weight
The person level weight variable (WGTSP13) was constructed as
a composite of separate panel specific weights. A positive person level weight
was assigned to all key members of the U.S. civilian non-institutionalized
population for whom MEPS data were collected, representing the corresponding
U.S. population in early 2001. For the Panel 6, Round 1 participants this weight
reflects the original household probability of selection for the NHIS,
ratio-adjustment to NHIS national population estimates at the household level,
adjustment for non-participation in MEPS at the household level, and
poststratification to figures obtained from March 2001 Current Population Survey
(CPS) data at the family and person levels. The person level poststratification
reflected population distributions across census region, MSA status,
race/ethnicity (Hispanic, black/non-Hispanic, other), sex, and age.
Overall, the weighted population estimate based on WGTSP13
for the civilian noninstitutionalized population is 275,740,015. Estimates can
be made for this population based on the 34,173 sample persons in the file with
positive weights (WGTSP13>0).
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3.2.2 Family Level Weight
3.2.2.1 Definition of MEPS Families
A family unit is defined in MEPS as two or more persons
living together in the same household during the reference period (in this data
set, from January 1, 2001 to the date of interview) who are related by blood,
marriage, or adoption (including foster children). In addition, unrelated
persons who identify themselves as a family (e.g. domestic partners) are also
defined as a MEPS family unit. Persons who died during the round 1 reference
period and those who left the civilian non-institutionalized population part way
through the reference period due to institutionalization, emigration, or
enrollment in the military were considered to be family members. Relatives
identified as usual residents of the household but who were not present at the
time of the interview, such as college students living away from their parents’
home during the school year, were considered as members of the family that
identified them.
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3.2.2.2 Assignment of Weights
If all key in-scope members of a family responded to MEPS for
their entire period of eligibility in 2001 Panel 5 Round 3, or for Panel 6 Round
1, and the family had a key reference person, then that family received a family
level weight (WGTRU13>0). Reporting units consisting of an individual
respondent who was both key and in-scope also received a family level weight.
These individual person units can be included or excluded from family level
analyses at the analyst’s discretion.Family level weights were poststratified to figures obtained
from the March 2001 CPS. The family level poststratification reflected
population distributions across family type (reference person married, spouse
present; male reference person, no spouse present; female reference person, no
spouse present), size of family, age of reference person, location of family
(census region and MSA status), and race/ethnicity of the family’s reference
person. The weighted estimate of the number of units (families plus individual
person units) with family level weights containing at least one member of the
U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population is 118,594,062 based on 13,393
families with WGTRU13>0.
It should be noted that CPS and MEPS definitions of family
units are slightly different. In particular, CPS does not include foster
children in families or consider unmarried persons who live together as family
units. Adjustments were made in the poststratification process to help
compensate for some of these differences.
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3.2.2.3 Instructions to Create Family Estimates
To make estimates at the family level, it is necessary to
prepare a family level file containing one record per family. Each MEPS family
unit is uniquely identified by the combination of the variables DUID and
FAMID13. Only persons with positive nonzero family weight values (WGTRU13>0)
are candidates for inclusion in family estimates. Following is a summary of
steps that can be used for family level estimation.
| 1. |
Concatenate the variables DUID and FAMID13 into a new variable (e.g.
DUFAM13). |
| 2. |
To create a family level file, sort by DUFAM13 and then subset to one
record per DUFAM13 value by retaining only the reference person record
(RNDREF13=1) for each value of DUFAM13. If the analyst chooses to
eliminate single person units from family analyses, it is also necessary
to exclude records where FAMSIZ13=1. If aggregate measures for families
are needed for analytic purposes (e.g. means or totals), then those
measures need to be computed using person-level information within
families and attached to the family record. For other types of variables,
analysts frequently use characteristics of the reference person to
represent family characteristics. |
| 3. |
Apply the weight WGTRU13 to the analytic variable(s) of interest to
obtain national family estimates. |
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3.2.3 Relationship Between Person and Family Level
Weights
Some persons with positive person level weights do not have
family level weights because at least one member of their family was a
non-participant in MEPS. Others with positive person weights did not receive a
family weight because the family reference person was not key. In addition, some
persons with positive family level weights do not have person level weights
because they were either non-key or a member of the military or otherwise
out-of-scope during the first half of 2001. Analysts should include only persons
with positive person level weights for person level analyses and persons with
positive family level weights for family level analyses.
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3.3 Variance Estimation
To obtain estimates of variability (such as the standard
error of sample estimates or corresponding confidence intervals) for estimates
based on MEPS survey data, one needs to take into account the complex sample
design of MEPS for both person and family level analyses. Various approaches can
be used to develop such estimates of variance including a Taylor series method
for variance estimation or various replication methodologies. Replicate weights
have not been developed for the MEPS data. We will describe the variables needed
to implement a Taylor series estimation approach.
Using a Taylor Series approach, variance estimation strata
and the variance estimation PSUs within these strata must be specified. The
variables VARST13 and PSU13 on this MEPS data file (updated versions of
corresponding variables provided in previously released MEPS public use files)
serve to identify the sampling strata and primary sampling units required by the
variance estimation programs. Specifying a "with replacement" design
in a computer software package such as SUDAAN should provide estimated standard
errors appropriate for assessing the variability of MEPS survey estimates. It
should be noted that the number of degrees of freedom associated with estimates
of variability indicated by such a package may not appropriately reflect the
number available. For variables of interest distributed throughout the country
(and thus the MEPS sample PSUs), one can generally expect to have at least 100
degrees of freedom associated with the estimated standard errors for national
estimates based on this MEPS database.
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D. Variable-Source Crosswalk
SURVEY ADMINISTRATION VARIABLES
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE |
| DUID |
DU ID |
Assigned in Sampling |
| PID |
Person Number |
Assigned in Sampling or by CAPI |
| DUPERSID |
Person ID (DUID+PID) |
Assigned in Sampling |
| PANEL13 |
Panel Number |
Assigned by CAPI |
| FAMID13 |
Family Identifier (Student Merged In) |
CAPI Derived |
| RULETR13 |
RU Letter |
CAPI Derived |
| RUSIZE13 |
RU Size |
CAPI Derived |
| RUCLAS13 |
RU Fielded As: Standard, New, Student |
CAPI Derived |
| FAMSIZ13 |
RU Size Including Students |
CAPI Derived |
| REGION13 |
Census Region |
Assigned in Sampling |
| MSA13 |
MSA |
Assigned in Sampling |
| RNDREF13 |
Reference Person |
RE 42-45 |
| RDRESP13 |
1st Respondent Indicator |
RE 6, 8 |
| PROXY13 |
Was Respondent A Proxy |
RE 2 |
| BEGRFD13 |
Reference Period Begin Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
| BEGRFM13 |
Reference Period Begin Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
| BEGRFY13 |
Reference Period Begin Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
| ENDRFD13 |
Reference Period End Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
| ENDRFM13 |
Reference Period End Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
| ENDRFY13 |
Reference Period End Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
| KEYNESS |
Person Key Status |
RE Section |
| INSCOP13 |
In-scope |
RE Section |
| PSTAT13 |
Person Disposition Status |
RE Section |
| RURSLT13 |
RU Result |
Assigned by CAPI |
| RUENDD13 |
Date of Intv (Date Started: Day) |
Assigned by CAPI |
| RUENDM13 |
Date of Intv (Date Started: Month) |
Assigned by CAPI |
| RUENDY13 |
Date of Intv (Date Started: Year) |
Assigned by CAPI |
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DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE |
AGE13X |
Age - (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 12, 57-66 |
DOBMM |
Date of Birth: Month |
RE 12, 57-66 |
DOBYY |
Date of Birth: Year |
RE 12, 57-66 |
SEX |
Sex |
RE 12, 57, 61 |
RACEX |
Race - (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 101, 102 |
RACETHNX |
Race/Ethnicity - (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 98-102 |
HISPANX |
Hispanic Ethnicity - (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 98-100 |
HISPCAT |
Specific Hispanic Ethnicity Group |
RE 98-100 |
MARRY13X |
Marital Status - (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 13, 97 |
SPOUID13 |
Spouse ID |
RE 13, 97 |
SPOUIN13 |
Marital Status W/ Spouse Present |
RE 13, 97 |
EDUCYR |
Years of Educ when First Entered MEPS |
RE 103-105 |
HIDEG |
Highest Degree when First Entered MEPS |
RE 103-105 |
FTSTD13X |
Student Status Ages 17-23 (Edit/Imputed) |
RE 11A, 106-108 |
ACTDTY13 |
Military Full-Time Active Duty |
RE14, 96 |
RFREL13X |
Relation To Ref Pers (Edited/Imputed) |
RE 76-77 |
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HEALTH STATUS VARIABLES
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE
|
RTHLTH13 |
Perceived Health Status |
CE 1 |
RTPROX13 |
Self/Proxy Rating of Health |
CE 1 |
MNHLTH13 |
Perceived Mental Health Status |
CE 2 |
MNPROX13 |
Self/Proxy Rating of Mental Health |
CE 2 |
IADLHP13 |
IADL Screener |
HE 2,3 |
ADLHLP13 |
ADL Screener |
HE 5,6 |
AIDHLP13 |
Uses Assistive Devices |
HE 7,8 |
WLKLIM13 |
Limitation in Physical Functioning |
HE 9,10 |
LFTDIF13 |
Difficulty Lifting 10 Pounds |
HE 11 |
STPDIF13 |
Difficulty Walking Up 10 Steps |
HE 12 |
WLKDIF13 |
Difficulty Walking 3 Blocks |
HE 13 |
MILDIF13 |
Difficulty Walking a Mile |
HE 14 |
STNDIF13 |
Difficulty Standing 20 Minutes |
HE 15 |
BENDIF13 |
Difficulty Bending/Stooping |
HE 16 |
RCHDIF13 |
Difficulty Reaching Over Head |
HE 17 |
FNGRDF13 |
Difficulty Using Fingers to Grasp |
HE 18 |
ACTLIM13 |
Limitation Work/Housework/School |
HE 19,20 |
WRKLIM13 |
Work Limitation |
HE 19,20 |
HSELIM13 |
Housework Limitation |
HE 19,20 |
SCHLIM13 |
School Limitation |
HE 19,20 |
UNABLE13 |
Completely Unable To Do Activity |
HE 21 |
SOCLIM13 |
Social Limitation |
HE 22,23 |
COGLIM13 |
Cognitive Limitation |
HE 24,25 |
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EMPLOYMENT VARIABLES
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE |
EMPST13 |
Employment Status |
EM 1-3; RJ 1, 6 |
HRWAG13X |
Hourly Wage at Current Main Job |
EW section;
EM 104-105, 111 |
HRWGRD13 |
Hourly Wage Round Flag |
Constructed |
HRWAY13 |
Calculation Methods for Hourly Wage |
EM 104-105, 111;
EW section |
HOUR13 |
Hours Worked Per Week at CMJ |
EM 104-105, 111;
EW 17; RJ 1 |
HELD13X |
Health Insurance Held From CMJ |
EM, HX, RJ and HP sections |
OFFER13X |
Health Insurance Offered at CMJ |
EM, HX, RJ and HP sections |
NUMEMP13 |
Number of Employees at Location of CMJ |
EM 91-92, 124; RJ 8 |
SELFCM13 |
Self-Employed at Current Main Job |
EM 5, 11, 18, 27, 40, 53 |
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HEALTH INSURANCE VARIABLES
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE |
TRINW13X |
PID Cov By TRICARE at Int Date - Edited |
HX 12, 13; PR 19 - 22; HQ section; AGE13X; RE 14, 96A |
MCARE13 |
PID Cov By Medicare |
HX 5 – 7 |
MCARE13X |
PID Cov By Medicare |
HX 5 - 7, 10 - 15; PRIV13 and (HX 48 or (OE 10, 24,
37)); PR 7-10, 19-26 |
MCAID13 |
PID Cov By Medicaid |
HX 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19; HQ section; PR 7-10, 23-26,
39-42 |
MCAID13X |
PID Cov By Medicaid - Edited |
MCAID13, HX 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19; 41-43, 45; HQ
section; PR 7-10, 11-14, 23-32, 39-42 |
OTPUBA13 |
PID Cov By/Pays Other Gov Medicaid HMO |
HX 14, 15, 41-45; HQ section; PR 23-30 |
OTPUBB13 |
PID Cov By Other Public not Medicaid HMO |
HX 14, 15, 41-43; HQ section; PR 23-30 |
STPRG13 |
PID Cov By State Specific Program |
HX 16-19; HQ section; PR 35-38 |
PUB13X |
PID Cov By Public Insurance - Edited |
TRINW13X, MCARE13X, MCAID13X, OTPUBA13, OTPUBB13 |
PRIEU13 |
PID Cov By Private Employment/Union Plan |
HX 2-4, 21-24 48; HP, OE, HQ , EM, and RJ sections |
PRIDK13 |
PID Cov By Private DK Plan |
HX 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
PRING13 |
PID Cov By NonGroup Plan |
HX 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
PRIOG13 |
PID Cov By Other Group Plan |
HX 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
PRIS13 |
PID Cov By Self-Employed Firm Size 1 Insurance |
HX 3, 4, 48; EM, RJ, OE, and HQ sections |
PRIOUT13 |
PID Cov By Holder Outside RU |
HX 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
PRIV13 |
PID Cov By Private Ins |
PRIEU13, PRIDK13, PRING13, PRIOG13, PRIS13, PRIOUT13 |
HPRIEU13 |
PID is Holder of Private Employment/Union Plan |
HX 2-4, 9, 11, 21-24 48; HP, OE, HQ , EM, and RJ
sections |
HPRIDK13 |
PID is Holder of Private DK Plan |
HX 11, 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
HPRING13 |
PID is Holder of NonGroup Plan |
HX 11, 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
HPRIOG13 |
PID is Holder of Other Group Plan |
HX 11, 21-24 48; HP, OE, and HQ sections |
HPRIS13 |
PID is Holder of Self-Employed Firm Size 1 Insurance |
HX 3, 4, 9, 48; EM, RJ, OE, and HQ sections |
HPRIV13 |
PID is Holder of Private Ins |
HPRIEU13, HPRIDK13, HPRING13, HPRIOG13, HPRIS13 |
INSRD13X |
PID is Insured - Edited |
PUB13X, PRIV13 |
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WEIGHTS
| VARIABLE |
LABEL |
SOURCE |
WGTSP13 |
Person Weight |
Constructed |
WGTRU13 |
Family Weight |
Constructed |
VARST13 |
Variance Estimation Stratum |
Constructed |
PSU13 |
Variance Estimation PSU |
Constructed |
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