Released as an ASCII file (with related SAS, STATA, SPSS, and R programming statements and data user information), a SAS data set, a SAS transport dataset, a Stata dataset, and an Excel file, this public use file provides information collected on a nationally representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States for calendar year 2020. The file contains data collected in Rounds 6-7 for Panel 23, Rounds 3-5 for Panel 24, and Rounds 1-3 for Panel 25 of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (i.e., the rounds for the MEPS panels covering calendar year 2020) and consolidates all of the final 2020 person-level variables onto one file. This year, 2020, is the first data year to include three panels of data; Panel 23 was extended to include Rounds 6 and 7. This file contains the following variables previously released on HC-219: survey administration, language of interview variable, demographics, person-level priority conditions, access to care, patient satisfaction, health status, disability days, quality of care, employment, and health insurance. The HC-224 file also includes these variables: parent identifiers, Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ) variables, Diabetes Care Survey (DCS) variables, fully-imputed employment variables, use variables, income variables, and expenditure variables.
For more details on loading MEPS PUFs into R, SAS, and Stata, please visit the MEPS GitHub page. Update Notes
During the construction of the variable ADCMPY42 (SAQ: DATE COMPLETED-YEAR), the 3,092 PSAQ cases collected in the year 2021 were incorrectly assigned the value of -15 (Cannot be Computed) instead.
Update #2: 11/17/2023
The survey questions corresponding to the variables ADKALC42 and ADOFTALC42 changed from 2018 to 2020. In the 2018 Full-Year Consolidated file, the variable ADKALC42 was based on the survey question: "In the last 12 months, has a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional asked you how much and how often you drink alcohol?" In the 2020 Full-Year Consolidated file, a different variable, ADOFTALC42, reflects this same question, while ADKALC42 is based on a new question: "How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?" Users should be mindful of this change when utilizing the variable ADKALC42 in their analyses for 2018, 2020, and beyond. See Table 1 below for details.
The response categories for variables ADRNK542 and ADRNK442 in the 2020 Full-Year Consolidated file have changed from those used in 2018. See Table 2 below for details.
Table 1.
SAQ question text
2018
2020
How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
Never
Less Than Monthly
Monthly
Weekly
2-3 Times a Week
4-6 Times a Week
Daily
(none)
ADKALC42
In the last 12 months, has a doctor, nurse, or other health care professional asked you how much and how often you drink alcohol?
Yes
No
ADKALC42
ADOFTALC42
Table 2.
SAQ question text – FEMALE Only
2018
2020
In the last 12 months, have you had 4 or more drinks in one day?
Yes
No
ADRNK442
Never
Less Than Monthly
Monthly
Weekly
2-3 Times a Week
4-6 Times a Week
Daily
ADRNK442
SAQ question text – MALE Only
2018
2020
In the last 12 months, have you had 5 or more drinks in one day?
Yes
No
ADRNK542
Never
Less Than Monthly
Monthly
Weekly
2-3 Times a Week
4-6 Times a Week
Daily
ADRNK542
Update #1: 12/09/2022
In the 2020 questionnaires on the MEPS website, the specifications for Panel 24 round 5 are incorrect. Panel 24 round 5 spans 2020 and 2021. That is, the questionnaires say round 5 ended 12/31, but instead it generally ended in 2021.
*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.
. 
Back
Email Updates
