This file is a two-year longitudinal file derived from the respondents to the MEPS Panel 1 sample. The persons on this data set represent those who were in the MEPS population (civilian noninstitutionalized) for all or part of the 1996-1997 period. The file contains a longitudinal weight variable (LONGWT), all variables from the 1996 and 1997 consolidated full-year files (HC-012 and HC-020, respectively), and the strata and PSU values from the full year consolidated files and the pooled variance data file (HC-036). The weight variable (LONGWT), when applied to the persons who participated in both 1996 and 1997, 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, LONGWT can be used to develop cross-sectional type estimates for the two-year period and for each year individually based on only the Panel 1 sample.
*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.