Description:
The Priority Conditions section of the MEPS-HC questionnaire, added in 2000 (Panel 4 Round 5 and Panel 5 Round 3), collects information about a select group of medical conditions including sore or strep throat, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, coronary heart disease, angina, heart attacks, other heart disorders, strokes, emphysema, joint pain, and arthritis. MEPS collects information about a select group of medical conditions that have been specified by the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality as "priority conditions." These conditions, selected for their prevalence, expense, or relevance to policy, are:
hypertension,
heart disease,
high cholesterol,
emphysema,
chronic bronchitis,
diabetes,
cancer,
arthritis,
asthma, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD), and stroke. In addition to the tables and publications below, person-level data files with priority condition variables can be downloaded for analysis.