MEPS HC-060: 2001 Full Year Consolidated Data File
April 2004
Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
301-427-1406
Table of Contents
A. Data Use Agreement
B. Background
1.0 Household Component
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 (DUID – RURSLT53)
2.5.2 Navigating the MEPS Data with Information on Person
Disposition Status
2.5.3 Geographic Variables (REGION31 – MSA01)
2.5.4 Demographic Variables (AGE31X – DAPID53X)
2.5.5 Income and Tax Filing Variables (SSIDIS01 –
OTHIMP01)
2.5.5.1 Income Top-Coding
2.5.5.2 Poverty Status
2.5.6 Employment Variables (EMPST31 – OFFER53X)
2.5.7 Health Insurance Variables (TRIJA01X-PMEDIN53)
2.5.7.1 Health Insurance Indicators (TRIJA01X-INSDE01X)
2.5.7.2 Summary Insurance Coverage Indicators (PRVEV01 -
INSCOV01)
2.5.7.3 FY 2001 PUF Managed Care Variables
2.5.7.4 Unedited Health Insurance Variables (PREVCOVR-LIMITOT) Duration of Uninsurance
2.5.7.5 Health Insurance Coverage Variables (TRICR31X -
INSAT01X)
2.5.8 Disability Days Indicator Variables (DDNWRK31-
OTHNDD53)
2.5.9 Access to Care Variables (ACCELI42-OTHRPR42)
2.5.10 Health Status Variables (RTHLTH31-DSPRX53)
2.5.10.1 Perceived Health Status and IADL and ADL
Limitations
2.5.10.2 Functional and Activity Limitations
2.5.10.3 Vision Problems
2.5.10.4 Hearing Problems
2.5.10.5 Any Limitation Rounds 3, 4, and 5 (Panel 5) /
Rounds 1, 2, and 3 (Panel 6)
2.5.10.6 Child Health and Preventive Care
2.5.10.7 Preventive Care Variables
2.5.10.8 Priority Conditions
2.5.10.9 2001 Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ)
2.5.10.10 Diabetes Care Survey (DCS)
2.5.11 Utilization, Expenditures and Source of Payment
Variables (TOTTCH01-RXOSR01)
2.5.11.1 Expenditures Definition
2.5.11.2 Utilization and Expenditure Variables by Type of Medical Service
3.0 Survey Sample Information
3.1 Sample Design and Response Rates
3.1.1 The MEPS Sampling Process and Response Rates: An
Overview
3.1.2 Panel 6
3.1.3 Panel 5
3.1.4 Combined Panel Response
3.2 Person-level Estimation Using This MEPS Public Use
Release
3.3 Family-level Estimation Using This MEPS Public Use
Release
3.4 Analysis Using Health Insurance Eligibility Units
3.5 Weights and Response Rates for the Self-Administered
Questionnaire
3.6 Weights and Response Rates for the Diabetes Care
Survey
3.7 Guidelines for which weight to use for analysis
involving data/variables from multiple sources and supplements: MEPS 2001
full-year use file
D. Variable-Source Crosswalk
Appendix 1: Summary of Utilization and Expenditure
Variables by Health Service Category
A. Data Use Agreement
Individual identifiers have been removed from the
micro-data contained in these files. 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:
- No one is to use the data in this data set in any way
except for statistical reporting and analysis; and
- 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
- 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 Title 18 part 1
Chapter 47 Section 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 noninstitutionalized
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 noninstitutionalized 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 two 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 noninstitutionalized 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
The 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 the 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 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 electronic files.
Selected printed documents 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 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 Financing,
Access and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither
Road, Rockville, MD 20850 (301/427-1406).
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C. Technical and Programming Information
1.0 General Information
This documentation describes the 2001 full-year
consolidated data file from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household
Component (MEPS HC). Released as an ASCII file (with related SAS and SPSS
programming statements) and a SAS transport dataset, this public use file
provides information collected on a nationally representative sample of the
civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States for calendar year
2001. This file consists of MEPS survey data obtained in Rounds 3, 4, and 5 of
Panel 5 and Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of Panel 6, the rounds for the MEPS panels
covering calendar year 2001, and contains variables pertaining to survey
administration, demographics, employment, health status, quality of care,
patient satisfaction, health insurance, and person-level medical care use and
expenditures.
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:
• Data File Information
• Survey Sample Information
• Variable-Source Crosswalk (Section D)
A codebook of all the variables included in the 2001
full-year population characteristics data file is provided in a separate file
(H60CB.PDF).
A database of all MEPS products released to date and a
variable locator indicating the major MEPS data items on public use files that
have been released to date can be found at the following link on the MEPS web
site: www.meps.ahrq.gov.
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2.0 Data File Information
This public use dataset contains variables and frequency
distributions associated with 33,556 persons who participated in the MEPS
Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey in 2001. These
persons received a person-level weight, a family-level weight, or both (some
participating persons belonged to families characterized as family-level
nonrespondents while some members of participating families were not eligible
for a person-level weight). These persons were part of one of the two MEPS
panels for whom data were collected in 2001: Rounds 3, 4, and 5 of Panel 5 or
Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of Panel 6. Of these persons, 32,122 were assigned a positive
person-level weight. There were 12,852 families receiving a positive
family-level weight. The codebook provides both weighted and unweighted
frequencies for each variable on the dataset. In conjunction with the
person-level weight variable (PERWT01F) provided on this file, data for persons
with a positive person-level weight can be used to make estimates for the
civilian noninstitutionalized U. S. population for 2001.
The records on this file can be linked to all other 2001
MEPS-HC public use data sets by the sample person identifier (DUPERSID). Panel 5
cases (PANEL01=5) can be linked back to the 2000 MEPS-HC public use data files.
A longitudinal weight to facilitate two-year analysis of Panel 5 data can be
found on HC-065.
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2.1 Codebook Structure
The codebook and data file sequence lists variables in the
following order:
- Unique person identifiers and survey administration variables
- Geographic variables
- Demographic variables
- Income and tax filing variables
- Employment variables
- Health insurance variables
- Disability days indicators
- Access to care variables
- Health status variables
- Utilization, expenditure and source of payment
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 |
| -2 DETERMINED IN PREVIOUS ROUND |
Question was not asked in round because there was no
change in current main job since previous round |
| -7 REFUSED |
Question was asked and respondent refused to answer
question |
| -8 DK |
Question was asked and respondent did 120 not know
answer |
| -9 NOT ASCERTAINED |
Interviewer did not record the data |
| -10 HOURLY WAGE >= $62.50 |
Hourly wage was top-coded at $62.50 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 eight-character limitation. Edited variables end in an X and
are so noted in the variable label. The last two characters in round-specific
variables denote the rounds of data collection, Round 3, 4, or 5 of Panel 5 and
Round 1, 2, or 3 of Panel 6. 110 Unless otherwise noted, variables that end in
"01" represent status as of December 31, 2001.
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 "Section D.
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
re-enumeration are labeled "RE Section"; (3) variables that are collected by one
or more specific questions in the instrument have those question numbers listed
in the Source column; (4) variables constructed from multiple questions using
complex algorithms are labeled "Constructed".
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2.5 File Contents
2.5.1 Survey Administration Variables (DUID - RURSLT53)
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 re-enumeration
section of the questionnaire. Most survey administration variables on this file
are asked during every round of the MEPS interview. They describe data for
Rounds 3/1, 4/2, 5/3 status and status as of December 31, 2001. Variable names
ending in "xy" represent variables relevant to Round "x" of Panel 5 or Round "y"
of Panel 6. For example, RULETR53 is a variable relevant to Round 5 of Panel 5
or Round 3 of Panel 6, depending on the panel in which the person was included.
The variable PANEL01 indicates the panel in which the person participated.
The December 31, 2001 variables were developed in two
ways. Those used in the construction of eligibility, inscope, and the end
reference date were based on an exact date. The remaining variables were
constructed using data from specific rounds, if available. If data were missing
from the target round but were available in another round, data from that other
round were used in the variable construction. If no valid data were available
during any round of data collection, an appropriate reserved code was assigned.
Dwelling Units, Reporting Units, and Families
The definitions of Dwelling Units (DUs) in the MEPS
Household Survey are generally consistent with the definitions 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. A person number (PID)
uniquely identifies each person within the DU. The variable DUPERSID is the
combination of the variables DUID and PID.
PANEL01 is a constructed variable used to specify the
panel number for the person. PANEL01 will indicate either Panel 5 or Panel 6 for
each person on the file. Panel 5 is the panel that started in 2000, and Panel 6
is the panel that started in 2001.
A Reporting Unit (RU) is a person or group of persons in
the sampled DU who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, foster care, or
other family association. Each RU was 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 in the
pertinent three rounds by the round-specific variables RULETR31, RULETR42, and
RULETR53. End-of-year status (as of December 31, 2001 or the last round they
were in the survey) is indicated by the RULETR01 variable. Rardless of the legal
status of their association, two persons living together as a "family" unit were
treated as a single RU if they chose to be so identified. Examples of different
types of RUs are:
1. A married daughter and her husband living with her
parents in the same DU constitute a single RU
2. A husband and wife and their unmarried daughter, age
18, who is living away from home while at college constitute two RUs
3. Three unrelated persons living in the same DU would
each constitute a distinct RU (a total of three RUs)
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 Round 3/1 MEPS interview were treated as a RU
separate from that of their parents for the purpose of data collection.
The round-specific variables RUSIZE31, RUSIZE42, RUSIZE53,
and the end-of-year status variable RUSIZE01 indicate the number of persons in
each RU, treating students as single RUs separate from their parents. Thus,
students are not included in the RUSIZE count of their parents’ RU. However, for
many analytic objectives, the student RUs would be combined with their parents’
RU, treating the combined entity as a single family. Family identifier and size
variables are described below and include students with their parents’ RU.
The round-specific variables FAMID31, FAMID42, FAMID53,
and the end-of-year status variable FAMID01 identify a family (i.e., persons
related to one another by blood, marriage, adoption, foster care, or
self-identified as a single unit) for each round and as of December 31, 2001.
The FAMID variables differ from the RULETR variables only in that student RUs
are combined with their parents’ RU.
Two other family identifiers, FAMIDYR and CPSFAMID, are
provided on this file. The annualized family ID letter, FAMIDYR, identifies
eligible members of the eligible annualized families within a DU. The CPSFAMID
represents a redefinition of MEPS families into families defined by the Current
Population Survey (CPS). Some of the distinctions between CPS and MEPS defined
families are that MEPS families include and CPS families do not include:
non-married partners, foster children, and in-laws. These persons are considered
as members of separate families for CPS-like families. The reason CPS-like
families are defined is so that a poverty status classification variable
consistent with established definitions of poverty can be assigned to the
CPS-like families and used for weight poststratification purposes. In order to
identify a person’s family affiliation, users must create a unique set of FAMID
variables by concatenating the DU identifier and the FAMID variable.
Instructions for creating family estimates are described in section 3.3.
Health
Insurance Eligibility Units (HIEUs) are sub-family relationship units
constructed to include adults plus those family members who would typically be
eligible for coverage under the adults' private health insurance family plans.
To construct the HIEUIDX variable, which links persons into a common HIEU, we
begin with the family identification variable CPSFAMID. Working with this family
ID, we define HIEUIDX using family relationships as of the end of 2001. Persons
missing end of year relationship information are assigned to an HIEUIDX using
relationship information from the last round in which they provided such
information. HIEUs comprise adults, their spouses, and their unmarried
natural/adoptive children age 18 and under. We also include children under age
24 who are full-time students (living at home or away from home). Other children
who do not live with their natural/adoptive adult parents are placed in an
HIEUIDX as follows:
- Foster children always comprise a separate HIEUIDX.
- Other unmarried children are placed in stepparent HIEUIDX, grandparent HIEUIDX, great-grandparent HIEUIDX, or aunt/uncle HIEUIDX.
- Children of unmarried minors are placed (along with
their minor parents) in the HIEUIDX of their adult grandparents (if possible).
Married minors are placed into separate HIEUs along with any spouses and
children they might have.
- Some HIEUs are headed by unmarried minors, when there
is no adult family member present in the CPSFAMID.
HIEUs do not, in general, comprise adult (nonmarital)
partnerships, because unmarried adult partners are rarely eligible for dependent
coverage under each other's insurance. The exception to this rule is that we
include adult partners in the same HIEU if there is at least one
(out-of-wedlock) child in the family that links to both adult partners. In cases
of missing or contradictory relationship codes, HIEUs are edited by hand, with
the presumption being that the adults and children form a nuclear family.
The round-specific variables FAMSZE31, FAMSZE42, FAMSZE53,
and the end-of-year status variable FAMSZE01 indicate 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 FAMSZE variables.
Note that the variables RUSIZE31, RUSIZE42, RUSIZE53,
RUSIZE01, FAMSZE31, FAMSZE42, FAMSZE53, and FAMSZE01 exclude persons who are
ineligible for data collection (i.e., those where ELGRND31 NE 1, ELGRND42 NE 1,
ELGRND53 NE 1 or ELGRND01 NE 1); analysts should exclude ineligible persons in a
given round from all family-level analyses for that round.
The round-specific variables RURSLT31, RURSLT42, and
RURSLT53 indicate the RU response status for each round. Users should note that
the values for RURSLT31 differ from those for RURSLT42 and RURSLT53. The values
for RURSLT31 include the following:
Value |
Definition |
-1 |
Inapplicable |
60 |
Complete with RU member |
61 |
Complete with
proxy‑‑all RU members deceased |
62 |
Complete with
proxy‑‑all RU members institutionalized or deceased |
63 |
Complete with proxy,
other |
80 |
Entire RU merged with
other RU |
81 |
Entire RU deceased
before 1/1/01 |
82 |
Entire RU is in
military before 1/1/01 |
83 |
RU institutionalized
before 1/1/01 |
84 |
Entire RU left U.S.
before 1/1/01 |
85 |
RU ineligible before
1/1/01, multi-reason |
86 |
RU ineligible, Non-Key
NHIS study |
87 |
Re-enumeration
complete, no eligible RU member, Ineligible RU |
88 |
Unavailable during
field period |
89 |
Too ill, No proxy |
90 |
Physical/Mental
incompetent, No proxy |
91 |
Final Refusal |
92 |
Final Breakoff |
93 |
Unable to locate |
94 |
Entire RU is military
or left U.S. after 1/1/01 |
95 |
RU member
institutionalized after 1/1/01, No proxy |
96 |
RU member deceased
after 1/1/01, No proxy |
97 |
Re-enumeration
complete, no RU member, Non-Response |
98 |
RU moved too far away
to interview |
99 |
Final other
Non-Response |
The values for RURSLT42 and
RURSLT53 include the following:
Value |
Definition |
-1 |
Inapplicable |
60 |
Complete with RU member |
61 |
Complete with
proxy‑‑all RU members deceased |
62 |
Complete with
proxy‑‑all RU members institutionalized or deceased |
63 |
Complete with proxy,
other |
70 |
Entire RU merged with
other RU |
71 |
Re-enumeration
complete, no eligible RU member, Ineligible RU |
72 |
RU institutionalized in
prior round; still institutionalized |
81 |
Entire RU deceased
before 1/1/01 |
82 |
Entire RU is in
military before 1/1/01 |
83 |
RU institutionalized
before 1/1/01 |
84 |
Entire RU left U.S.
before 1/1/01 |
85 |
RU ineligible before
1/1/01, multi-reason |
86 |
RU ineligible, Non-Key
NHIS study |
87 |
Language Barrier |
88 |
Unavailable during
field period |
89 |
Too ill, No proxy |
90 |
Physical/Mental
incompetent, No proxy |
91 |
Final Refusal |
92 |
Final Breakoff |
93 |
Unable to locate |
94 |
Entire RU is military
or left U.S. after 1/1/01 |
95 |
RU member
institutionalized after 1/1/01, No proxy |
96 |
RU member deceased
after 1/1/01, No proxy |
97 |
Re-enumeration
complete, no RU member, Non-Response |
98 |
RU moved too far away
to interview |
99 |
Final other
Non-Response |
Standard or primary RUs are the original RUs from NHIS. A
new RU is one created when members of the household leave the primary RU and are
followed according to the rules of the survey. A student RU is an unmarried
college student (under 24 years of age) who 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 his or her parents’ RU for the purpose of
data collection. RUCLAS01 was set based on the RUCLASS values from Rounds 3/1,
4/2, and 5/3. If the person was present in the responding RU in Round 5/3, then
RUCLAS01 was set to RUCLAS53. If the person was not present in a responding RU
in Round 5/3 but was present in Round 4/2, then RUCLAS01 was set to RUCLAS42. If
the person was not present in either Rounds 4/2 or 5/3 but was present in Round
3/1, then RUCLAS01 was set to RUCLAS31. If the person was not linked to a
responding RU during any round, then RUCLAS01 was set to -9.
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 BEGRFM31, BEGRFD31, BEGRFY31, BEGRFM42, BEGRFD42,
BEGRFY42, BEGRFM53, BEGRFD53, and BEGRFY53. The reference period for Round 1 for
most persons began on January 1, 2001 and ended on the date of the Round 1
interview. For RU members who joined later in Round 1, the beginning Round 1
reference date was the date the person entered the RU. For all subsequent
rounds, 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 to the day they joined the RU.
The round-specific ending reference period dates for
Rounds 3/1, 4/2, and 5/3 as well as the end-of-year reference period end date
variables are also included for each person. These variables include ENDRFM31,
ENDRFD31, ENDRFY31, ENDRFM42, ENDRFD42, ENDRFY42, ENDRFM53, ENDRFD53, ENDRFY53,
ENDRFM01, ENDRFD01, and ENDRFY01. For most persons in the sample, the date of
the round’s interview is the reference period end date. Note that the end date
of the reference period for a person is prior to the date of the interview if
the person was deceased during the round, left the RU, was institutionalized
prior to that round’s interview, or left the RU to join the military.
Reference Person Identifiers
The round-specific variables REFPRS31, REFPRS42, and
REFPRS53 and the end-of-year status variable REFPRS01 identify the reference
person for Rounds 3/1, 4/2 and 5/3, and as of December 31, 2001 (or the last
round they were in the survey). 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 is unable to identify a person fitting
this definition, the questionnaire asks for the head of household and this
person is then considered the reference person for that RU. This information is
collected in the Re-enumeration 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 variables RESP31,
RESP42, and RESP53 and the end-of-year status variable RESP01 identify the
respondent for Rounds 3/1, 4/2, and 5/3 and as of December 31, 2001 (or the last
round they were in the survey). 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 round-specific variables
PROXY31, PROXY42, and PROXY53 and the end-of-year status variable PROXY01
identify the type of respondent for Rounds 3/1, 4/2, 5/3 and as of December 31,
2001 (or the last round they were in the survey).
Language of Interview
Language of interview (INTVLANG) was documented in the
Closing section of the interview, and has the following possible values:
1 ENGLISH
2 SPANISH
3 ENGLISH & SPANISH
91 OTHER LANGUAGE
-1 INAPPLICABLE
Although this question is round-specific, the responses
were summarized to the person-level variable, INTVLANG. The hierarchy used in
determining the value is as follows: 1) assign the value from the first round
with a reported value recorded for each person; 2) if one is not recorded at the
person level, then assign the first recorded value within the reporting unit
(RU); 3) if one is not available at that level, then assign the first recorded
value of the dwelling unit (DU); 4) if no value is available, then a value of –1
is assigned.
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 inscope status, keyness status,
eligibility status, and disposition status. These variables include: KEYNESS,
INSCOP31, INSCOP42, INSCOP53, INSCOP01, INSC1231, INSCOPE, ELGRND31, ELGRND42,
ELGRND53, ELGRND01, ELIGIBLE, PSTATS31, PSTATS42, and PSTATS53. These variables
are set based on sampling information and responses provided in the
Re-enumeration section of the CAPI questionnaire.
Through the Re-enumeration section of the CAPI
questionnaire, each member of a RU was classified as "Key" or "Non-Key",
"inscope" 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
noninstitutionalized population for at least one day during 2001. Because a
person's eligibility for the survey might have changed since the NHIS interview,
a sampling re-enumeration of household membership was conducted at the start of
each round's interview. Only persons who were "inscope" sometime during the
year, were "key", and responded for the full period in which they were inscope
were assigned positive person-level weights and thus are to be used in the
derivation of person-level national estimates from the MEPS.
Note: If analysts want to subset to infants born during
2001, then newborns should be identified using AGE01X = 0 rather than PSTATSxy =
51.
Inscope
A person was considered as inscope during a round if he or
she was a member of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population at some
time during that round. The round-specific variables INSCOP31, INSCOP42, and
INSCOP53 indicate a person’s inscope status for Rounds 3/1, 4/2, and 5/3.
INSCOP01 indicates a person’s inscope status for the portion of Round 5/3 that
covers 2001. The values of these variables taken in conjunction allow one to
determine inscope status over time (for example, becoming inscope in the middle
of a round, as would be the case for newborns). The INSCOPE variable indicates
whether a person was ever inscope during the calendar year 2001. INSCOP31,
INSCOP42, INSCOP53, and INSCOP01 will contain the following values and
corresponding labels (for INSCOP01, “reference period” in the description below
is the portion of Round 5/3 in 2001):
Value |
Definition |
0 |
Incorrectly listed, or on NHIS roster but
out-of-scope prior to January 1, 2001 |
1 |
Person is inscope for the whole reference
period |
2 |
Person is inscope at the start of the RU
reference period, but not at the end of the RU reference period |
3 |
Person is not inscope at the start of RU
reference period, but is inscope at the end of the RU reference period.
(For example, the person is inscope from the date the person joined the RU
or the person was in the military in the previous round, but is no longer in
the military in the current round) |
4 |
Person is inscope during the reference
period, but neither at the reference start date nor on the reference end
date. (For example, person leaves an institution, goes into community, and
then dies) |
5 |
Person is out-of-scope for all of the
reference period during which he or she is in an RU member. (For example,
the person is in the military) |
6 |
Person is out-of-scope for the entire
reference period and is not a member of the RU during this time period and
was inscope and an RU member in an earlier round. |
7 |
Person is not in an RU, joined in a later
round (or joined the RU after December 31, 2001 for INSCOP01) |
8 |
RU Non-response and Key persons who left an
RU with no tracing info and so a new RU was not formed |
9 |
Person is non-key or full-time in the
military, not a member of an RU during this time period, and was an RU
member in an earlier round |
Keyness
The term “Keyness” is related to an individual’s chance of
being included in MEPS. 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 was a member of an NHIS household at the time of the
NHIS interview or became a member of such a household after being out-of-scope
at the time of the NHIS (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,
inscope member were not followed for subsequent interviews. Non-key individuals
do not receive sample person-level weights and thus do not contribute to
person-level national estimates.
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 might be key even
though not part of the civilian, noninstitutionalized 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 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 inscope during 2001.
Eligibility
The eligibility of a person for MEPS pertains to whether
or not data were to be collected for that person. All of the key inscope persons
of a sampled RU were eligible for data collection. The only non-key persons
eligible for data collection were those who happened to be living in an RU with
at least one key, inscope person. Their eligibility continued only for the time
that they were living with at least one such person. The only out-of-scope
persons eligible for data collection were those who were living with key inscope
persons, again only for the time they were living with such a person. Only
military persons can meet this description (for example, a person on full-time
active duty military, living with a spouse who is key).
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 (for example, persons may have been institutionalized during a round),
data were collected for the period of time for which that person was classified
as eligible. The round-specific variables ELGRND31, ELGRND42, ELGRND53 and the
end-of-year status variable ELGRND01 indicate a person’s eligibility status for
Rounds 3/1, 4/2 and 5/3 and as of December 31, 2001. The ELIGIBLE variable
indicates if a person was ever eligible during the calendar year 2001.
Person Disposition Status
The round-specific variables PSTATS31, PSTATS42, and
PSTATS53 indicate a person’s response and eligibility status for each round of
interviewing. The PSTATSxy variables indicate the reasons for either continuing
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, institutionalized or who were in the military. Analysts should note that
PSTATS53 provides a summary for all of Round 5/3, including transitions that
occurred after 2001.
The following codes specify the value labels for the
PSTATSxy variables.
Value |
Definition |
-1 |
The person was not
fielded during the round or the RU was non‑response |
0 |
Incorrectly listed in
RU at NHIS ‑ applies to MEPS Round 1 only |
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 |
Full-time student
living away from home, but associated with sampled RU |
14 |
The person is full-time
active military duty during round, is inscope for part of the reference
period and is in the RU at the end of the reference period |
21 |
The person remains in a
health care institution for the whole round ‑ Rounds 4/2 and 5/3 only |
22 |
The person leaves an
institution (health care or non-health care) and rejoins the community ‑
Rounds 4/2 and 5/3 only |
24 |
The person dies in a
health care institution during the round (former RU member) ‑ Rounds 4/2 and
5/3 only |
31 |
Person from original
RU, dies during reference period |
32 |
Went to health care
institution during reference period |
33 |
Went to non‑healthcare institution during
reference period |
34 |
Moved from original RU,
outside U.S. (not as student) |
35 |
Moved from original RU,
to a military facility while on full-time active military duty |
36 |
Went to institution
(type unknown) during reference period |
41 |
Moved from the original
RU, to new RU within U.S. (new RUs include RUs originally classified as
"Student RU" but which converted to "New RU") |
42 |
The person joins RU and
is not full-time military during round |
43 |
The person's
disposition as to why the person is not in the RU is unknown or the person
moves and it is unknown whether the person moved inside or outside the U.S. |
44 |
The person leaves an RU
and joins an existing RU and is not both in the military and coded as
inscope during the round |
51 |
Newborn in reference
period |
61 |
Died prior to reference
period (not eligible)‑Round 1 only |
62 |
Institutionalized prior
to reference period (not eligible)‑Round 1 only |
63 |
Moved outside U.S.,
prior to reference period (not eligible)‑Round 1 only |
64 |
Full-time military,
living on a military facility, moved prior to reference period (not
eligible)‑Round 1 only |
71 |
Student under 24 living
away at school in grades 1‑12 (Non‑Key) |
72 |
Person is dropped from
the RU roster as ineligible: the person is a non-key student living away or
the person is not related to reference person or the RU is the person's
residence only during the school year |
73 |
Not Key and not
full‑time military, moved without someone key and inscope (not eligible) |
74 |
Moved as full‑time
military but not to a military facility and without someone key and inscope
(not eligible this round) |
81 |
Person moved from
original RU, full-time student living away from home, did not respond |
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.2 Navigating the MEPS
Data with Information on Person Disposition Status
Since the variables PSTATS31, PSTATS42, and PSTATS53
indicate the reasons for either continuing or terminating data collection for
each person in MEPS, these variables can be used to explain the beginning and
ending dates for each individual’s reference period of data collection, as well
as which sections in the instrument each individual did not receive. By using
the information included in the following table, analysts will be able to
determine for each individual which sections of the MEPS questionnaire collected
data elements for that person.
Some individuals have a reference period that spans an
entire round, while other individuals may have data collected only for a portion
of the round. When an individual’s reference period does not coincide with the
RU reference period, the individual’s start date may be a later date, or the end
date may be an earlier date, or both. In addition, some individuals have
reference period information coded as “Inapplicable” (e.g., for individuals who
were not actually in the household). The information in this table indicates the
beginning and ending dates of reference periods for persons with various values
of PSTATS31, PSTATS42, and PSTATS53. The actual dates for each individual can be
found in the following variables included on this file: BEGRFM31, BEGRFM42,
BEGRFM53, BEGRFD31, BEGRFD42, BEGRFD53, BEGRFY31, BEGRFY42, BEGRFY53, ENDRFM31,
ENDRFM42, ENDRFM53, ENDRFD31, ENDRFD42, ENDRFD53, ENDRFY31, ENDRFY42, ENDRFY53,
ENDRFM01, ENDRFD01, and ENDRFY01.
The table below also describes the section or sections of
the questionnaire that were NOT asked for each value of PSTATS31, PSTATS42, and
PSTATS53. For example, the condition enumeration (CE) and alternative/preventive
care (AP) sections have questions that are not asked for deceased persons. The
closing section (CL) also contains some questions or question rosters (see
CL06A, CL35 through CL37, CL48 through CL50, CL54, CL58, and CL64) that exclude
certain persons depending on whether the person died, became institutionalized,
or otherwise left the RU; however, no one is considered to have skipped the
entire section. Some questions or sections (e.g., health status (HE), employment
(RJ, EM, EW)) are skipped if individuals are not within a certain age range.
Since the PSTATS variables do not address skip patterns based on age, analysts
will need to use the appropriate age variables.
The paper-and-pencil Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ)
was designed to collect information based on two age categories during Panel 6
Round 2 and Panel 5 Round 4. A person was considered eligible to receive an SAQ
if that person did not have a status of deceased or institutionalized, did not
move out of the U. S. or to a military facility, was not a non-response at the
time of the Round 2 or Round 4 interview date, and was 18 years of age or older.
No RU members added in Round 3 or Round 5 were asked to complete an SAQ
questionnaire. Because PSTATS variables do not address skip patterns based on
age, this questionnaire was not included in the table below. Once again,
analysts will need to use the appropriate age variables which in this case would
be AGE42X. The documentation for this questionnaire appears in the SAQ section
of this document under “Health Status Variables.”
Please note that the end reference date shown below for
PSTATS53 reflects the Round 5/3 reference period rather than the portion of
Round 5/3 that occurred during 2001.
| PSTATS Value |
PSTATS
Description |
Sections in the instrument which persons with this PSTATS
value do NOT receive |
Begin
Reference Date |
End
Reference Date |
| -1
|
The
person was not fielded during the round or the RU was non-response
|
ALL
sections
|
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
0 |
Incorrectly listed in RU at NHIS - Round 3/1 only |
ALL
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
11 |
Person
in original household, not FT active military duty (Person is in the same RU
as the previous round) |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Interview date |
|
12 |
Person
in original household, FT active military duty, out-of-scope for whole
reference period. |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Interview date |
|
13 |
FT
student living away from home, but associated with sampled household |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Interview date |
|
14 |
The
person is FT active military duty during round and is inscope for part of
the reference period and is in the RU at the end of the reference period |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
PSTATS31: Interview date
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: If the person is living w/ someone Key and inscope,
then the interview date. If not living w/ someone who is Key and inscope,
then the date the person joined the military |
|
21 |
The
person remains in a health care institution for the whole round - Rounds 4/2
and 5/3 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
22 |
The person leaves a health
care institution and rejoins the community - Rounds 4/2 and 5/3 only |
-- |
Date rejoined the community |
Interview date |
|
23 |
The
person leaves a health care institution, goes into community and then dies -
Rounds 4/2 and 5/3 only |
Part
of CE - Condition enumeration: Skip CE1 to-CE5
HE -
Health status
AC -
Access to care
Part
of AP - Alternative/Preventive care: Skip AP12 to AP22 |
Date
rejoined the community |
Date
of Death |
|
24 |
The
person dies in a health care institution during the round (former household
member) - Rounds 4/2 and 5/3 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
31 |
Person
from original household, dies during reference period |
Part
of CE - Condition enumeration: Skip CE1 to CE5
HE -
Health status
AC -
Access to care
Part
of AP - Alternative/Preventive care: Skip AP12 to AP22 |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Date
of Death |
|
32 |
Went
to healthcare institution during reference period |
Access
to care (AC) |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Date
institutionalized |
|
33 |
Went
to non-healthcare institution during reference period |
Access
to care (AC) |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Date
institutionalized |
|
34 |
Moved from original
household, outside US |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53:
Prior round interview date |
Date left the RU |
|
35 |
Moved
from original household, to a military facility while on FT active military
duty |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Date
left the RU |
|
36 |
Went
to institution (type unknown) during reference period |
Access
to care (AC) |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Date
institutionalized |
|
41 |
Moved
from the original household, to new household within US (new households
include RUs originally classified as a student RU but which converted to a
new RU. These are individuals in an RU that has split from an RU since the
previous round) |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: Prior round interview date |
Interview date |
|
42 |
The
person joins household and is not full-time military during round |
-- |
The
later date of January 1, 2001 and the date the person joined the RU |
Interview date |
|
43 |
The
person’s disposition as to why the person is not in the RU is unknown or the
person moves and it is unknown whether the person moved inside or outside
the U.S. |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
44 |
The person leaves an RU and
joins an existing RU and is not both in the military and coded as inscope
during the round |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53:
Prior round interview date of the RU the person has joined. This may not be
the interview date of the RU that the person came from |
Interview date |
|
51 |
Newborn in reference period |
Questions where age must be > 1
Health
status (HE),
Disability days (DD)
Employment (RJ/EM/EW) will be skipped) |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001 if born prior to 2001. The date of birth if born
in 2001.
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53: The later of the Prior round interview date and date
of birth |
Interview date |
|
61 |
Died
prior to reference period (not eligible)--Round 3/1 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
62 |
Institutionalized prior to reference period (not eligible)--Round 3/1 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
63 |
Moved
outside U.S., prior to reference period (not eligible)--Round 3/1 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
64 |
FT
military, moved prior to reference period (not eligible)--Round 3/1 only |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
71 |
Student under 24 living
away at school in grades 1 through 12 (Non-Key) |
-- |
PSTATS31: January 1, 2001
PSTATS42 and PSTATS53:
Prior round interview date |
Interview date |
|
72 |
Person
is dropped from the RU roster as ineligible: the person is a Non-Key
student living away or the person is not related to reference person or the
RU is the person’s residence only during the school year |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
73 |
Not
Key and not full-time military, moved w/o someone Key and inscope (not
eligible) |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
74 |
Moved
as full-time military but not to a military facility and w/o someone Key and
inscope (not eligible) |
All
sections after RE |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
|
81 |
Person moved from original
household, FT student living away from home, did not respond |
No data were collected |
Inapplicable |
Inapplicable |
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.3 Geographic Variables
(REGION31 - MSA01)
The round-specific variables REGION31, REGION42, REGION53,
and the end-of-year status variable REGION01 indicate the Census region for the
RU. REGION01 indicates the region for the 2001 portion of Round 5/3. For most
analyses, REGION01 should be used. The round-specific variables MSA31, MSA42,
and MSA53 and the end-of-year status variable MSA01 indicate whether or not the
RU is found in a metropolitan statistical area. MSA31, MSA42, and MSA53 indicate
the MSA status at the time of Rounds 3/1, 4/2, and 5/3 interviews. MSA01
indicates the MSA status for the 2001 portion of Round 5/3. For most analyses,
analysts should use MSA01 rather than MSA31, MSA42, or MSA53.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.4 Demographic Variables (AGE31X - DAPID53X)
General Information
Demographic variables provide information about the
demographic characteristics of each person from the MEPS-HC. The characteristics
include age, sex, race, ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, and
military service. As noted below, some variables have edited and imputed values.
Most demographic variables on this file were asked during every round of the
MEPS interview. These variables describe data for Rounds 3, 4, and 5 of Panel 5
(Panel that started in 2000); Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of Panel 6 (Panel that started
in 2001); and status as of December 31, 2001. Demographic variables that are
round specific are identified by names including numbers “xy”, where x and y
refer to Round numbers of Panels 5 and 6 respectively. Thus, for example, AGE31X
represents the age data relevant to Round 3 of Panel 5 or Round 1 of Panel 6. As
mentioned in Section 2.5.1 “Survey Administration” Variables, the variable
PANEL01 indicates the panel from which the data were derived. A value of 5
indicates Panel 5 data and a value of 6 indicates Panel 6 data. The remaining
demographic variables on this file are not round specific.
The variables describing demographic status of the person
as of December 31, 2001 were developed in two ways. First, the age variable
(AGE01X) represents the exact age as of 12/31/01, calculated from date of birth
and indicates age status as of 12/31/01. For the remaining December 31st
variables [i.e., related to marital status (MARRY01X, SPOUID01, SPOUIN01),
student status (FTSTU01X), and the relationship to reference persons
(RFREL01X)], the following algorithm was used: data were taken from Round 5/3
counterpart if non-missing; else, if missing, data were taken from the Round 4/2
counterpart; else from the Round 3/1 counterpart. If no valid data were
available during any of these rounds of data collection, the algorithm assigned
the missing value (other than -1 “Inapplicable”) from the first round that the
person was part of the study. When all three rounds were set to –1, a value of
–9 “Not Ascertained” was assigned.
Age
Date of birth and age for each RU member were asked or
verified during each MEPS interview (DOBMM, DOBYY, AGE31X, AGE42X, AGE53X). 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 variables AGE31X, AGE42X, AGE53X and AGE01X
were top coded at 85 years.
When date of birth was not provided but age was provided
(either from the MEPS interviews or the 1999-2000 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 26, where 26 is the mean age difference between MEPS mothers and their
children. A wife’s age is imputed as the husband’s age minus 3, where 3 is the
mean age difference between MEPS wives and husbands.
Age was imputed in this way for 2 persons on this file.
Age was determined for one additional person from data in a later round.
Sex
Data on the gender of each RU member (SEX) were initially
determined from the 1999 NHIS for Panel 5 and from the 2000 NHIS for Panel 6.
The SEX variable 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 interviews) were also obtained during each MEPS Round.
When gender of the RU member was not available from the NHIS interviews 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 gender if obvious
(no cases were resolved in this way). If the person’s first name provided no
indication of gender, then family relationships were reviewed (no cases were
resolved this way). If neither of these approaches made it possible to determine
the individual’s gender, gender was randomly assigned (0 cases).
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 (this approach was used on 91 persons to set race and 6 persons
to set ethnicity). 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 reported in the unedited variable HISPCAT.
Marital Status and Spouse ID
Current marital status was collected and/or updated during
every Round of the MEPS interview. This information was obtained in RE13 and
RE97 and is reported as MARRY31X, MARRY42X, MARRY53X and MARRY01X. Persons under
the age of 16 were coded as 6 “Under 16 – Inapplicable”. If marital status of a
specified Round differed from that of the previous Round, then the marital
status of the specified Round was edited to reflect a change during the Round
(e.g., married in Round, divorced in Round, separated in Round, or widowed in
Round).
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. Thus,
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 some consistency
across rounds. 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. Since marital status can change
across rounds and it was not feasible to edit every combination of values across
rounds, unlikely sequences for marital status across the round-specific
variables do exist.
The person identifier for each individual’s spouse is
reported in SPOUID31, SPOUID42, SPOUID53, and SPOUID01. These are the PIDs
(within each family) of the person identified as the spouse during Round 3/1,
Round 4/2, and Round 5/3 and as of December 31, 2001, respectively. If no spouse
was identified in the household, the variable was coded as 995 “No spouse in
household”. 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 SPOUIN31, SPOUIN42, SPOUIN53, and SPOUIN01 variables
indicate whether a person’s spouse was present in the RU during Round 3/1, Round
4/2, Round 5/3 and as of December 31, 2001 respectively. If the person had no
spouse in the household, the value was coded as 2 “Not Married/No Spouse”. For
persons under the age of 16 the value was coded as 3 “Under 16 – Inapplicable”.
The SPOUID and SPOUIN variables were obtained from RE76
and RE77, where the respondent was asked to identify how each pair of persons in
the household were 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 SPOUID and SPOUIN 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:
- 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 SPOUIN and SPOUID for the same round would indicate
that a spouse was present).
- Valid discrepancies in the case of persons who are
married but not living with their spouse, or separating but still living
together.
- Discrepancies that cannot be explained for either of
the previous reasons.
Student Status and Educational Attainment
The variables FTSTU31X, FTSTU42X, FTSTU53X and FTSTU01X
indicate whether the person was a full-time student at the interview date (or
12/31/01 for FTSTU01X). These variables have valid values for all persons
between the ages of 17 - 23 inclusive. When this question was asked during Round
1 of Panel 6, it was based on age as of the 2000 NHIS interview date.
Number of years of education completed is indicated in the
variable EDUCYEAR. Information was obtained from questions RE 103-105. Children
who are 5 years of age or older 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. However, among the cases coded as –1
“Inapplicable”, there is no distinction between those who were under the age of
five and others who were inapplicable, such as persons who may be
institutionalized for an entire round. EDUCYEAR is based on the first round in
which the number of years of education is collected for a person. The user
should note that EDUCYEAR is an unedited variable and minimal data cleaning was
performed on this variable.
The variable HIDEGYR, indicating highest degree of
education, was obtained from three questions: highest grade completed (RE103),
high school diploma (RE 104), and highest degree (RE 105). Persons under 16
years of age were coded as 8 “Under 16- Inapplicable”. In cases where the
response to the highest degree question was “No degree” and the response to the
highest grade question was 13 through 17 “1 or More Years of College”, the
variable HIDEGYR was coded as 3 “High School Diploma”. If highest grade
completed was “Refused“ or “Don’t Know” for those with a “No Degree” response
for the highest degree question, the variable HIDEGYR was coded as 1 “No
Degree”. HIDEGYR is based on the first round in which the highest degree was
collected for a person. The user should note that HIDEGYR is an unedited
variable and minimal data cleaning was performed on this variable.
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 variables ACTDTY31, ACTDTY42, and ACTDTY53.
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”.
The variable DIDSERVE indicates if the person ever served
in the Armed Forces. Persons under the age of 16 were coded as 3 “Under 16 –
Inapplicable”. Individuals currently on active duty military service were coded
as 4 “Now Active Duty”. Individuals who were ever in the military based on the
DIDSERVE and ACTDTY question(s) were also asked if they served in the Vietnam
War era (VETVIET), the Korean War era (VETKOR), either World War I or World War
II (VETWW), in the Persian Gulf (Desert Storm) (VETGULF), or another service era
(VETOTH). Those under the age of 16 were coded as 3 “Under 16 –Inapplicable”,
and those who never served in the military were coded as 4 “Never in military”.
The military service questions were asked of everyone when they entered MEPS.
The user should note that the DIDSERVE and veteran status
variables were reviewed for consistency. The veteran status variables were
minimally edited to ensure that all individuals under 16 years of age were coded
as 3 “Under 16 – Inapplicable” for the specific veteran-era variables. However,
no other age editing was performed, and thus it is possible for age/era
inconsistencies to exist (e.g., AGE31X=17 and VETVIET=Yes).
Relationship to the Reference Person within Reporting
Units
For each Reporting Unit (RU), the person who owns or rents
the DU 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 survey administration variables.) The
variables RFREL31X, RFREL42X, RFREL53X, and RFREL01X indicate 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, Specify”,
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 from calendar year 2001 were not sufficient to identify the
relationship of an individual to the reference person, relationship variables
from the 2000 MEPS or 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.
For 62 cases, where two individuals’ relationship
indicated they were spouses, but both had marital status indicating they were
not married, their relationship was changed to non-marital partners. In
addition, the relationship variables were edited to insure that they did not
change across rounds for RUs in which the reference person did not change, with
the exception of relationships identified as partner, spouse, or foster
relationships.
Parent Identifiers
The variables MOPID31X, MOPID42X, MOPID53X and DAPID31X,
DAPID42X DAPID53X are round specific and are used to identify the parents
(biological, adopted, or step) of the person represented on that record. MOPID##X
contains the person identifier (PID) for each individual’s mother if she lived
in the DU in that panel/round of the survey, or a value of –1 (Inapplicable) if
she did not. Similarly, DAPID##X contains the person identifier (PID) for each
individual’s father if he lived in the DU in that panel/round of the survey, or
a value of –1 (Inapplicable) if he did not. MOPID##X and DAPID##X were
constructed based on information collected in the relationship grid of the
instrument each round at questions RE76 and RE77 and include biological,
adopted, and step parents. Foster parents were not included. For persons who
were not present in the household during a round, MOPID##X and DAPID##X have
values of –1 (Inapplicable).
Edits were performed to ensure that MOPID##X and DAPID##X
were consistent with each individual’s age, sex, and other relationships within
the family. For instance, the gender of the parent must be consistent with the
indicated relationship; mothers are at least 12 years older than the person and
no more than 55 years older than the person; fathers are at least 12 years older
than the person; each person has no more than one mother and no more than one
father; any values set for MOPID##X and DAPID##X were removed from any person
identified as a foster child; and the PID for the person’s mother and father are
valid PIDs for that person’s DU for the 2001 Full Year File.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.5 Income and Tax Filing Variables (SSIDIS01 - OTHIMP01)
The file provides income and tax-related variables that
were constructed primarily from data collected in the Panel 5 Round 5 and Panel
6 Round 3 Income Sections. Person-level income amounts have been edited and
imputed for every record on the full-year file, with detailed imputation flags
provided as a guide to the method of editing. The tax-filing variables and some
program participation variables are unedited, as discussed below.
Logical editing, cold-deck imputation and weighted,
sequential hot-deck imputation were used to impute income amounts for missing
values (both for item non-response and for persons in the full-year file who
were not in the income rounds). Reported income components were generally left
unedited (with the few exceptions noted below). Thus, analysts using these data
may wish to apply additional checks for outlier values that would appear to stem
from mis-reporting.
The editing process began with wage and salary income,
WAGEP01X. Complete responses were left unedited, and this group of people was
assigned WAGIMP01 = 1, where WAGIMP01 is the imputation flag for wage and salary
data. The only exception was for a small number of persons who reported zero
wage and salary income despite having been employed for pay during the year
according to round level data (see below). Since data on tax filing and on
taxable income sources were collected using an approach that encouraged
respondents to provide information from their federal tax returns, logical edits
were used to assign separate income amounts to married persons whose responses
were based on combined income amounts on their joint tax returns.
Persons assigned WAGIMP01=2 were those providing broad
income ranges rather than giving specific dollar amounts. Weighted sequential
hot-decking was used to provide these individuals with specific dollar amounts.
For this imputation, donors were persons who reported specific dollar amounts
within the corresponding broad income ranges. All WAGEP01X hot-deck imputations
used cells defined on the basis of a conventional list of person-level
characteristics including age, education, employment status, race, sex, and
region.
Persons assigned WAGIMP01=3 were those who did not report
wage and salary income and who were assigned WAGEP01X=0 based on not having been
employed during the year.
Persons assigned WAGIMP01=4 were those who did not provide
valid dollar amounts or dollar ranges, but for whom we had information from the
employment sections of the survey concerning wages, hours, and weeks worked (in
all jobs). These data were used to construct annualized wage amounts to be used
in place of missing annual wage and salary data. Comparisons of reported and
constructed wages and salaries using persons who provided both sorts of
information yielded a high degree of confidence that employment data could be
reliably used to derive values to serve in place of missing wage and salary
information. To implement this approach, part-year responders were assumed to be
fully-employed during the remainder of the year if they were employed during the
period in which they provided data. An exception was made for those who either
died or were institutionalized. These persons were assigned zero wages and
salaries for the time they were not in MEPS.
Hot-deck imputation was used for the remaining persons
with missing WAGEP01X. Donor pools included persons whose WAGEP01X amounts were
edited in the steps described above. Whenever possible, the hot-deck imputations
used data on whether or not the person had been employed at any point during the
year (and, if available, the number of weeks worked). Imputations for persons
deemed to have been employed were conditional in nature, using only donors with
positive WAGEP01X amounts (WAGIMP01=5). Imputations for WAGEP01X for the
remaining persons were unconditional, using both workers and non-workers as
donors (WAGIMP01=6).
After editing WAGEP01X for all persons in the full-year
file, the remaining income sources were edited in the following sequence:
INTRP01X, BUSNP01X, FARMP01X, DIVDP01X, REFDP01X, ALIMP01X, SALEP01X, TRSTP01X,
PENSP01X, IRASP01X, SSECP01X, UNEMP01X, WCMPP01X, VETSP01X, CASHP01X, OTHRP01X,
CHLDP01X, SSIP01X, and PUBP01X. Income components were edited sequentially, in
each case using information regarding income amounts that had already been
edited (so as to maintain patterns of correlation across income sources whenever
possible). In all cases, bracketed responses were edited first (using hot-deck
imputations from donors in corresponding brackets who gave specific dollar
amounts), followed by imputations for remaining missing values. The hot-deck
imputations used cells defined on the basis of income amounts already edited and
a conventional list of person-level characteristics such as age, education,
employment status, race, sex, and region. In addition, hot-deck imputations for
CHLDP01X used family-level information concerning marital status and the number
of children. Hot-deck imputations for SSIP01X and PUBP01X were also assigned
using, in part, simulated program eligibility indicators that integrated
state-level program eligibility criteria with data on family composition and
income.
As with the 1998-2000 MEPS income variables, data from the
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were incorporated in editing the 2001
variables. The NHIS sample is the frame for the new sample selected for MEPS
collection each year, with a year’s time lag. Data from the 1999 NHIS correspond
to MEPS Panel 5, while those from the 2000 NHIS correspond to MEPS Panel 6.
Because MEPS units come from the NHIS, it is possible to
match individual MEPS responding units to an NHIS unit. In some hot-decks this
matching ability allowed income recipiency indicators collected by NHIS to be
used in imputing for missing data in certain MEPS income components interest,
dividends, business income, pensions, and Social Security. (Not all MEPS income
categories have an equivalent in NHIS. Also, wage data were available from NHIS,
but were not used in the MEPS imputation process.)
In cases where data on a particular income category were
missing for a person in MEPS, the indicator in that income category on the NHIS
file was employed, assuming a non-missing value. Indicators were examined for
the entire tax-filing unit (two people in the case of married couples filing
jointly; one person in all other cases).
Due to the nature of the skip patterns in the MEPS income
section, persons who do not file federal income tax returns were more likely to
not report any data about an income item than were those persons who do file tax
returns. In order to compensate for this missing information, it is critical to
impute from other persons who did not file tax returns (or whose filing status
was unknown), because persons not filing and filers had different income
patterns. For the variables INTRP01X, DIVDP01X, PENSP01X, and SSECP01X, new
cold-decks were implemented beginning with the 1999 editing process to address
this issue.
These cold-decks used income amounts reported in the 1995
NHIS (the last time dollar amounts, not just recipiency data, were collected),
adjusted for inflation. Donors were limited to those 1995 NHIS persons who did
not file, or whose filing status was unknown, based on the MEPS Panel 1 results.
The cold-decks were run prior to the hot-decks for each variable; cold-deck
recipients could not be donors in the subsequent hot-decks.
A similar cold-deck imputation was introduced for certain
filers (TAXFRM01) of the "short" or "EZ" 1040 form with missing data caused by
the skip patterns in income collection.
Reported income amounts of less than one dollar were
treated as missing amounts (to be hot-decked from donors with positive amounts
of the corresponding income source). Also, a very few cases of outlier responses
were edited (primarily public sources of income that exceeded possible amounts).
Otherwise, reported amounts were left unchanged.
For each income component, the corresponding xxIMP01
variable contains an indicator concerning the method for editing/imputation. All
the flag variables have the following formatted values:
1 = Original response used;
2 = Bracket converted;
3 = Missing value set to 0;
4 = Weeks worked/earnings used (WAGIMP01 only);
5 = Conditional hot-deck;
6 = Unconditional hot-deck;
7 = Edited using NHIS data.
Missing values were set to zero when there were too few
recipients to warrant hot-deck imputations of positive values (as in the case of
ALIMP01X received by males). “Conditional hot-decks” indicate instances where
the respondent indicated receipt but not a specific dollar amount. In these
cases, the donor pool was restricted to persons with nonzero amounts of the
income source in question. “Unconditional hot-decks” indicate instances where
the donor pool included persons receiving both zero and nonzero amounts
(implemented in cases where we had little or no information about a person’s
income source).
Total person-level income (TTLP01X) is the sum of all
income components with the exception of REFDP01X and SALEP01X (to match as
closely as possible the CPS definition of income; see Section 2.5.5.2). Some
researchers may wish to define their own income measure by adding in one or both
of these excluded components.
The tax variables, food stamp variables, SSI disability
flag, and welfare participation flag are all completely unedited. Note that
while the welfare participation flag is named AFDC01, in fact this variable
reflects participation in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), with
respondents having been prompted with “TANF”, “AFDC”, and “welfare.” Unedited
tax variables are provided to assist researchers building tax simulation
programs. No efforts have been made to eliminate inconsistencies among these
program participation and tax variables and other MEPS data. All of these
unedited variables should be used with great care.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.5.1 Income Top-Coding
All income amounts on the file, including both total
income and the separate sources of income, were top coded to preserve
confidentiality. For each income source, top codes were applied to the top
percentile of all cases (including negative amounts that exceeded income
thresholds in absolute value). In cases where fewer than one percent of all
persons received a particular income source, all recipients were top-coded.
Top-coded income amounts were masked using a regression-based approach. The
regressions relied on many of the same variables used in the hot-deck
imputations, with the dependent variable in each case being the natural
logarithm of the amount that the income component was in excess of its top-code
threshold. Predicted values from this regression were reconverted from
logarithms to levels using a smearing correction, and these predicted amounts
were then added back to the top-code thresholds. This approach preserves the
component-by-component weighted means (both overall and among top-coded cases),
while also preserving much of the income distribution conditional on the
variables contained in the regressions. At the same time, this approach ensures
that every reported amount in excess of its respective threshold is altered on
the public use file. The process of top-coding income amounts in this way
inevitably introduces measurement error in cases where income amounts were
reported correctly by respondents. Note, however, that top-coding can also help
to reduce the impact of outliers that occur due to reporting errors.
Total income is constructed as the sum of the adjusted
income components. Having constructed total income in this manner, this total
was then top-coded using the same regression-based procedure described above
(again masking the top percentile of cases). Finally, the components of income
were scaled up or down in order to make the sources of income consistent with
the newly-adjusted totals.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.5.2 Poverty Status
The file includes a categorical variable for 2001 family
income as a percentage of poverty (POVCAT01). The definitions of income, family,
and poverty categories used were taken from the 2001 poverty statistics
developed by the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Family income was derived by constructing person-level
total income comprising annual earnings from wages, salaries, bonuses, tips,
commissions; business and farm gains and losses; unemployment and workers’
compensation; interest and dividends; alimony, child support, and other private
cash transfers; private pensions, IRA withdrawals, social security, and veterans
payments; supplemental security income and cash welfare payments from public
assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and related programs; gains
or losses from estates, trusts, partnerships, S corporations, rent, and
royalties; and a small amount of “other” income. Family income excluded tax
refunds and capital gains. Person-level income totals were then summed over
family members as defined by CPSFAMID to yield the family-level total. POVCAT01
was constructed by dividing family income by the applicable poverty line (based
on family size and composition), with the resulting percentages grouped into 5
categories; negative or poor (less than 100%), near poor (100% to less than
125%), low income (125% to less than 200%), middle income (200% to less than
400%), and high income (greater than or equal to 400%). Persons missing CPSFAMID
were treated as one-person families in constructing POVCAT01. Family income as
well as the components of person level income have been subjected to internal
editing patterns and derivation methods that are in accordance to specific
definitions, and are not being released at this time. Researchers working with a
family definition other than CPSFAMID may wish to create their own versions of
total family income (and perhaps POVCAT01).
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.6 Employment Variables (EMPST31 - OFFER53X)
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.
Most employment variables pertain to the round interview
date. The round dates are indicated by two numbers following the variable name;
the first number representing the round for Panel 5 persons, the second number
representing the round for Panel 6 persons. For example, EMPST31 refers to
employment status on the Round 3 interview date for Panel 5 persons and
employment status on the Round 1 interview date for Panel 6 persons.
With the exception of health insurance held at or offered
through a current main job, no attempt has been made to logically edit any
employment variables. When missing, values were imputed for certain persons’
hourly wages; however, there was no editing performed on any values reported by
the respondent. Due to confidentiality concerns, hourly wages greater than or
equal to $62.50 were top-coded to –10 and the number of employees variable was
top-coded at 500. With the exception of a variable indicating whether the
employer has more than one location (MORE), all employer-specific variables
refer to the establishment that is the location of a person’s current main job.
The MEPS employment section used dependent interviewing in
Rounds 2 through 5. If employment status and certain job characteristics did not
change from the previous round, as identified in the review of employment
section, the respondent was skipped through the main employment section. A code
of “–2” is used to indicate that the information in question was obtained in a
previous round. For example, if the HRWG42X (Round 4 interview date hourly wage
for Panel 5 persons or Round 2 interview date hourly wage for Panel 6 persons)
is coded as “–2”, refer to HRWG31X (Round 3 interview date hourly wage for Panel
5 persons or Round 1 interview date hourly wage for Panel 6 persons) for the
value for HRWG42X. Note that there may be a value for the Round 3/1 hourly wage
or there may be an “Inapplicable” code (-1). The “–2” value for HRWG42X simply
indicates that the person was skipped past the question at the time of the
subsequent interview. To determine who should be skipped through various
employment questions, certain information, such as employment status, had to be
asked in every round and, thus, “-2” codes do not apply to employment status.
Additionally, information on whether the person currently worked at more than
one job or whether the person held health insurance from a current main employer
was asked in every round, and, therefore, those variables also have no “–2”
codes.
For Panel 5 persons who have a current main job in Round 3
that continues from Round 1 or 2, the “–2” code is not sufficient for those
variables that the person was skipped past at the time of the interview. This is
because the Panel 5 Round 1 and 2 data are not included on this release and
therefore there are no data to which to refer. For such persons, the values for
the variables for these skipped questions are copied from the Round 1 or 2
constructed variable on the 2000 Full Year Public Use Release, depending on the
round in which the job first became the current main job. The accompanying
variable RNDFLG31 indicates the round in which these data were collected. For
example, if the person has a Round 3 current main job that continues from Round
2 and was first reported as the current main job in Round 2, HRWG31X will be a
copy of the HRWG42X variable from the 2000 Full Year Public Use Release and
RNDFLG31 will be “2”, indicating the round in which the job was first reported
as the current main job.
Employment Status (EMPST31, EMPST42, and EMPST53)
Employment status was asked for all persons age 16 or
older. Allowable responses to the employment status questions were as follows:
“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 the round;
“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 which he or she could return.
These responses were mutually exclusive. A current main
job was defined for persons who either reported that they were currently
employed and identified a current main job or 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 as of the interview date.
Data Collection Round for Round 3/1 CMJ (RNDFLG31)
For Panel 5, if a person’s Round 3 current main job (CMJ)
is a continuation CMJ from Round 2 or Round 1, the value of most “31” variables
will be copied forward from the variable representing the round in which the job
was first reported as the CMJ. For persons in Panel 5, RNDFLG31 indicates the
round in which the Round 3 CMJ was first reported as the CMJ and provides a
timeframe for the reported wage information and other job details. RNDFLG31 is
used with many “31” variables to indicate the round on which the reported
information is based. RNDFLG31 is set to “Inapplicable” (–1) for persons in
either panel who are under age 16 or who do not have a CMJ in Panel 5 Round 3 or
Panel 6 Round 1. For persons who are part of Panel 5, RNDFLG31 is also set to
“Inapplicable” (–1) if the person is out-of-scope in the 2001 portion of Round
3. For persons who are part of Panel 6, RNDFLG31 is also set to “Inapplicable”
(–1) if the person is out-of-scope in Round 1. For persons who are part of Panel
5, other values for RNDFLG31are set as follows:
1 = continuing Round 3 CMJs reported first in Round 1;
2 = continuing Round 3 CMJs reported first in Round 2;
3 = jobs newly reported as current main in Round 3;
-9 = Round 3 CMJ is a continuation CMJ (wage information and other details were not collected in Round 3) but the Round 2 CMJ record either does not exist or is not the same job. This can occur in rare instances because corrections made to a person’s record in a current file cannot be made to that record in an earlier file due to data base processing constraints.
For persons who are part of Panel 6 and reported a Round 1
CMJ, RNDFLG31 is set to “1” indicating that the job information represented in
the “31” variables was collected in Round 1.
Self-employed (SELFCM31, SELFCM42, and SELFCM53)
Information on whether an individual was self-employed at
the current main job was obtained for all persons who reported a current main
job. Certain questions, namely those regarding benefits and hourly wage, were
not asked of the self-employed. Variables constructed from these questions
indicate whether the establishment reported by wage earners (those not
self-employed) as the main source of employment offered any of the following
benefits:
• Paid leave to visit a doctor (PAYDR31, PAYDR42, and PAYDR53)
• Paid sick leave (SICPAY31, SICPAY42, and SICPAY53)
• Paid vacation (PAYVAC31, PAYVAC42, and PAYVAC53)
• Pension plan (RETPLN31, RETPLN42, and RETPLN53)
For persons who were self-employed at their current main
job, these benefits variables were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) for all these
variables. Additionally, information on whether the firm had more than one
business location (MORE31, MORE42, and MORE53) and whether the establishment was
a private for-profit, nonprofit, or a government entity (JOBORG31, JOBORG42, and
JOBORG53) was not applicable for self-employed persons. Conversely, the
variables that identify whether a business was incorporated, a proprietorship,
or a partnership (BSNTY31, BSNTY42, and BSNTY53) applied only to those who were
self-employed at their current main job.
Hourly wage (HRWG31X, HRWG42X, HRWG53X)
Hourly wage was asked of all persons who reported a
current main job that was not self-employment (SELFCM). An hourly wage was
imputed using a weighted sequential hot-deck procedure for those identified as
having a current main job who were not self-employed and who did not know their
wage or refused to report a wage. Hourly wage for persons for whom employment
status was not known was coded as “Not Ascertained” (-9). Additionally, wages
were imputed for wage earners reporting a wage range and not a specific value.
For each of these persons, a value was imputed from other persons on the file
who did report a specific value that fell within the reported range. The
variables HRWGIM31, HRWGIM42, and HRWGIM53 identify persons whose wages were
imputed. Note that wages were imputed only for persons with a positive person
and/or positive family weight.
For reasons of confidentiality, the hourly wage variable
was top-coded. A value of –10 indicates that the hourly wage was greater than or
equal to $62.50. The hourly wage variables on this file (HRWG31X, HRWG42X,
HRWG53X) should be considered along with their accompanying variables - HRHOW31,
HRHOW42, and HRHOW53 - which indicate how the respective round hourly wage was
constructed. Hourly wage could be 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
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 HRHOW
variable.
Health Insurance (HELD31X, HELD42X, HELD53X, OFFER31X,
OFFER42X, OFFER53X, CHOIC31, CHOIC42, CHOIC53, DISVW31X, DISVW42X, DISVW53X)
There are several employment-related, health insurance measures included in this
release: health insurance held at a current main job (HELD31X, HELD42X,
HELD53X), health insurance offered through a current main job (OFFER31X,
OFFER42X, OFFER53X), and a choice of health plans available through the current
main job (CHOIC31, CHOIC42, CHOIC53). The HELD and OFFER variables were
logically edited using health insurance information.
Several persons indicated that they held health insurance
through a current main job in the employment section and then denied this
coverage later in the interview in the health insurance section. Employment
section health insurance HELD variables were edited for consistency to match the
health insurance measures obtained in the health insurance section. To allow for
easy identification of these individuals, round-specific flag variables were
constructed (DISVW31X, DISVW42X, DISVW53X). Responses in the employment section
for health insurance held were recoded to be consistent with the variables in
the health insurance section of the survey. Due to questionnaire skip patterns,
the responses to health insurance offered were affected by editing the HELD
variable. For example, if a person responded that health insurance was held from
a current main job, the question relating to whether health insurance was
offered was skipped. For persons who responded in the employment section that
they held health insurance coverage and then disavowed the coverage in the
health insurance section, we could not ascertain whether they were offered a
policy. These individuals are coded as –9 for the OFFER variables.
Within the employment section, an inconsistency can occur
between the held and offered information in the file. In the first round in
which a person is reported as having a specific CMJ, MEPS asks if the person
holds health insurance through that job. If the person does not hold insurance,
then a follow-up question is asked as to whether the person was offered
insurance (but declined coverage). However, if a person does hold insurance,
then that person is skipped over the offered question and the offer variable
(OFFER31X, OFFER42X, OFFER53X) is automatically set to “Yes” (1).
In the rounds after a CMJ is initially reported, the
“held” question is asked again in each interview (whether a person originally
held insurance or not). This is to determine if there has been any change in
coverage. However, the offer question is not updated again after the initial
round, regardless of any change in the held status. After the initial round the
offer variable is set to “-2” (value determined in previous round).
For persons in the second panel for a year (Rounds 1-3),
this can result in a situation where the current round’s held variable (HELD31X,
HELD42X, HELD53X) equals “Yes” (1), but looking back to the original round in
which the offered variable was set (which must be done since the current round’s
value is “-2”), the offered value may be set to “No” (2). For persons in the
first panel of a year (Rounds 3-5), the offered value is pulled forward on the
file from the original round (on the prior year’s PUF) and the same discrepancy
held equal “Yes”; offered equal “No” can occur.
Finally, persons under age 16 as well as persons aged 16
and older who did not hold a current main job or who were self-employed with no
employees were coded as “Inapplicable” for the health insurance-related
employment variables. Hours (HOUR31, HOUR42, HOUR53) The hours measure refers to
usual hours worked per week at the current main job.
Temporary (TEMPJB31, TEMPJB42, TEMPJB53) and Seasonal
(SSNLJB31, SSNLJB42, SSNLJB53) Jobs
The temporary job variables (TEMPJB31, TEMPJB42, TEMPJB53)
indicate whether a current main job lasts for only a limited amount of time or
until the completion of a project.
The seasonal job variables (SSNLJB31, SSNLJB42, SSNLJB53)
indicate whether the CMJ is only available during certain times of the year.
SSNLJB is “YES” (‘1’ ) if the job is year round; SSNLJB is “NO” (‘2’ ) if the
job is only available during certain times of the year. Teachers and other
school personnel who work only during the school year are considered to work
year round.
Both variables are set on current main jobs whether a
person is self-employed or not. Both are constructed based on questions that are
round-specific, i.e., the questions are asked when a job is newly reported and
when it is reviewed in subsequent rounds, even when the job ends in that round.
Number of Employees (NUMEMP31, NUMEMP42, NUMEMP53)
Due to confidentiality concerns, the variable indicating
the number of employees at the establishment has been top coded at 500 or more
employees. NUMEMP 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 donors within the reported range.
Other Employment Variables
Information about industry and occupation types for a
person’s current main job at the interview date is also contained in this
release. Based on verbatim text fields collected during the interview, industry
and occupation types were first coded by trained coders into the three-digit
codes defined by the Bureau of the Census for the 1990 Census. For
confidentiality reasons, these codes were then condensed. CIND31, CIND42, and
CIND53 represent the condensed industry codes for a person’s current main job at
the interview date. COCCP31, COCCP42 and COCCP53 represent the condensed
occupation codes for a person’s current main job at the interview date.
Information indicating whether a person belonged to a
labor union (UNION31, UNION42, and UNION53) is also contained in this release.
The day, month, and year that the current main job started
for Rounds 3, 4, and 5 of Panel 5 and Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of Panel 6 are provided
in this release (STJBDD31, STJBMM31, STJBYY31, STJBDD42, STJBMM42, STJBYY42,
STJBDD53, STJBMM53, and STJBYY53).
There are two measures included in this release that
relate to a person’s work history over a lifetime. One indicates whether a
person ever retired from a job as of the Round 5 interview date for Panel 5
persons or the Round 3 interview date for Panel 6 persons (EVRETIRE). The other
indicates whether a person ever worked for pay as of the Round 5 interview date
for Panel 5 persons or the Round 3 interview date for Panel 6 persons (EVRWRK).
The latter was asked of everyone who indicated that they were not working as of
the round interview date. Therefore, anyone who indicated current employment or
who had a job during any of the previous or current rounds was skipped past the
question identifying whether the person ever worked for pay. These individuals
were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1). All persons who ever reported a job and were
55 years or older as of the round interview date were asked if they “ever
retired”. Since both of these variables are not round specific, there are no
“–2” codes.
This release contains variables indicating the main reason
a person did not work since the start of the reference period (NWK31, NWK42, and
NWK53). If a person was not employed at all during the reference period (at the
interview date or at any time during the reference period) but was employed some
time prior to the reference period, the person was asked to choose from a list
the main reason he or she did not work during the reference period. The
“Inapplicable” (-1) category for the NWK variables includes:
- Persons who were employed during the reference period;
- Persons who were not employed during the reference period and who were never employed;
- Persons who were out-of-scope the entire reference period and;
- Persons who were less than 16 years old.
A measure of whether an individual had more than one job
on the round interview date (MORJOB31, MORJOB42, and MORJOB53) is provided on
this release. In addition to those under 16 and those individuals who were
out-of-scope, the “Inapplicable” category includes those who did not report
having a current main job. Because this is not a job-specific variable, there
are no “–2” codes.
This release contains variables indicating if a current
main job changed between the third and fourth rounds for Panel 5 persons or
between the first and second rounds for Panel 6 persons (CHGJ3142) and between
the fourth and fifth rounds for Panel 5 persons or between the second and third
rounds for Panel 6 persons (CHGJ4253). In addition to the “Inapplicable”,
“Refused”, “Don’t Know”, and “Not Ascertained” categories, the change job
variables were coded to represent the following:
1 = person left previous round current main job and now has a new current main job;
2 = person still working at the previous round’s current main job but, as of the new round, no longer considers this job to be the current main job and defines a new main job (previous round’s current main job is now a current miscellaneous job);
3 = person left previous round’s current main job and does not have a new job;
4 = person did not change current main job.
Finally, this release contains the reason given by the
respondent for the job change (YCHJ3142 and YCHJ4253). The reasons for a job
change were listed in the CAPI questionnaire and a respondent was asked to
choose the main reason from this list. In addition to those out-of-scope, those
under 16, and those not having a current main job, the “Inapplicable” category
for YCHJ3142 and YCHJ4253 includes workers who did not change jobs.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.7 Health Insurance Variables (TRIJA01X-PMEDIN53)
2.5.7.1 Health Insurance Indicators (TRIJA01X-INSDE01X)
Constructed and edited variables are provided that indicate any
coverage in each month of 2001 for the sources of health insurance coverage collected during
the MEPS interviews (Panel 5, Rounds 3 through 5 and Panel 6, Rounds 1 through 3). In
Rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5, insurance that was in effect at the previous round’s
interview date was reviewed with the respondent. Most of the insurance variables have been
logically edited to address issues that arose during such reviews in Rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5.
One edit to the private insurance variables corrects for a problem concerning covered
benefits that occurred when respondents reported a change in any of their private health
insurance plan names. Additional edits address issues of missing data on the time period of
coverage for both public and private coverage that was either reviewed or initially reported
in a given round. For TRICARE coverage (TRIJA01X – TRIDE01X), respondents who were
over age 65 had their reported TRICARE coverage overturned. Additional edits, described
below, were performed on the Medicare and Medicaid or State Children’s Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP) variables to assign persons to coverage from these sources.
Observations that contain edits assigning persons to Medicare or Medicaid/SCHIP coverage can
be identified by comparing the edited and unedited versions of the Medicare and
Medicaid/SCHIP variables.
Public sources include Medicare, TRICARE, Medicaid, SCHIP, and other
public hospital/physician coverage. State-specific program participation in
non-comprehensive coverage (STAJA01– STADE01) was also identified but is not
considered health insurance for the purpose of this survey.
In addition to the month-by-month indicators of coverage, there are
12 round-specific Health Insurance variables indicating coverage by an HMO or managed care
plan. The variables PRVHM031/42/01 and PRVMNC31/42/01 indicate coverage by a private HMO or
gatekeeper plan in Panel 6, Rounds 1 - 3, and Panel 5, Rounds 3 - 5. The variables
MCDHMO31/42/01 and MDCMC31/42/01 indicate coverage by a Medicaid HMO or managed care plan in
Panel 6, Rounds 1 - 3, and Panel 5, Rounds 3 - 5. Twelve other round-specific Health
Insurance variables that indicate private coverage through a plan with a list of doctors and
whether the plan pays for visits to non-plan doctors have been added for FY 2001. The
variables PRVDRL31/42/01 indicate coverage by a private insurance source that has a book or
list of doctors in Panel 6, Rounds 1 – 3, and Panel 5, Rounds 3 – 5. The
variables PRDRNP31/42/01 indicate coverage by at least one private insurance plan with a
book or list of doctors that pays for visits to non-plan doctors in Panel 6, Rounds 1
– 3, and Panel 5, Rounds 3 – 5. The variables PHMONP31/42/01 indicate coverage
by at least one private insurance source through an HMO that pays for visits to non-plan
doctors in Panel 6, Rounds 1 – 3, and Panel 5, Rounds 3 – 5. Finally, the
variables PMNCNP31/42/01 indicate coverage by at least one private insurance source through
a Gatekeeper Plan that pays for visits to non-plan doctors in Panel 6, Rounds 1 – 3,
and Panel 5, Rounds 3 – 5. For Panel 6, the "31" version indicates coverage
at any time in Round 1, the "42" version indicates coverage at any time in Round
2, and the "01" version represents coverage at any time during the 2001 portion of
Round 3. For Panel 5, the "31" version indicates coverage at any time during the
2001 portion of Round 3, the "42" version indicates coverage at any time in
Round 4, and the "01" version represents coverage at any time during Round 5
(because Round 5 ends on 12/31/01).
In the health insurance section of the
questionnaire, respondents reporting private health insurance were asked to
identify what types of coverage they had via a checklist. If they selected
prescription drug or dental coverage from this checklist, variables were
constructed to indicate prescription drug or dental coverage respectively. It
should be noted, however, that in some cases respondents may have failed to
identify prescription drug or dental coverage that was included as part of a
hospital and physician plan.
Medicare
Medicare (MCRJA01 – MCRDE01) coverage was
edited (MCRJA01X – MCRDE01X) 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; or
- They were covered by Medicaid/SCHIP, other public
hospital/physician coverage or Medigap coverage; or
- Their spouse was age 65 or over 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 or SCHIP recipients who
may not have recognized their coverage as such. These questions were asked only
if a respondent did not report Medicaid or SCHIP 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/SCHIP variables (MCDJA01– MCDDE01) have been
edited (MCDJA01X – MCDDE01X) 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 (OPAJA01 – OPADE01);
and
- The respondent did not report any managed care, Other
Public B Insurance (OPBJA01 – OPBDE01).
The variables OPAJA01 –
OPADE01 and OPBJA01 – OPBDE01 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 Month
The file also includes summary
measures that indicate whether or not a sample person has any public insurance
in a month (PUBJA01X – PUBDE01X). Persons identified as covered by public
insurance are those reporting coverage under TRICARE, Medicare, Medicaid or
SCHIP, or other public hospital/physician programs. Persons covered only by
state-specific programs that did not provide comprehensive coverage (STAJA01 –
STADE01), for example, the Maryland Kidney Disease Program, were not considered
to have public coverage when constructing the variables PUBJA01X – PUBDE01X.
Private Insurance
Variables identifying private insurance in general (PRIJA01 –
PRIDE01) and specific private insurance sources [such as employer/union group
insurance (PEGJA01 – PEGDE01); non-group (PNGJA01 – PNGDE01); and other group
(POGJA01 – POGDE01)] were constructed. Private insurance sources identify
coverage in effect at any time during each month of 2001. Separate variables
identify covered persons and policyholders (policyholder variables begin with
the letter "H", e.g., HPEJA01 – HPEDE01). These variables indicate coverage or
policyholder status within a source and do not distinguish between persons who
are covered or are policyholders on one or more than one policy within a given
source. In some cases, the policyholder was unable to characterize the source of
insurance (PDKJA01 – PDKDE01). Covered persons (but not policyholders) are
identified when the policyholder is living outside the RU (POUJA01 – POUDE01).
An individual was considered to have private health insurance 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 (PEGJA01 –
PEGDE01, PRSJA01 – PRSDE01) 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
(PEGJA01 – PEGDE01) 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 (PRSJA01 – PRSDE01) was
initially reported in the Employment Section and verified in the Health
Insurance Section. Unlike the other employment-related variables (PEGJA01 –
PEGDE01), self-employed-firm size 1 (PRSJA01 – PRSDE01) health insurance could
not be reported in the Health Insurance section for the first time. The
variables PRSJA01 – PRSDE01 have been constructed to allow users to determine if
the insurance should be considered employment-related.
Private insurance that was not employment-related
(POGJA01 – POGDE01, PNGJA01 – PNGDE01, PDKJA01 –
PDKDE01 and POUJA01 – POUDE01) was reported in the Health Insurance section
only.
Any Insurance in Month
The file also includes summary measures that indicate whether or not
a person has any insurance in a month (INSJA01X – INSDE01X). Persons identified as
insured are those reporting coverage under TRICARE, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, 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 (STAJA01 – STADE01), for example, the
Maryland Kidney Disease Program, and those without hospital/physician benefits
(for example, private insurance for dental or vision care only, or for accidents
or specific diseases) were not considered to be insured when constructing the
variables INSJA01X – INSDE01X.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.7.2 Summary Insurance
Coverage Indicators (PRVEV01 - INSCOV01)
The variables PRVEV01-UNINS01 summarize health insurance coverage for
the person in 2001 for the following types of insurance: private (PRVEV01); Tricare
(TRIEV01); Medicaid or SCHIP (MCDEV01); Medicare (MCREV01); other public A (OPAEV01); other
public B (OPBEV01). Each variable was constructed based on the values of the corresponding
12 month to month health insurance variables described above. A value of 1 indicates that
the person was covered for at least one day of at least one month during 2001. A value of 2
indicates that the person was not covered for a given type of insurance for all of 2001.
The variable UNINS01 summarizes PRVEV01-OPBEV01. Where PRVEV01-OPBEV01 are all equal to 2,
then UNINS01 equals 1; person was uninsured for all of 2001. Otherwise UNINS01 is set to 2,
not uninsured for some portion of 2001. For user convenience this file contains a
constructed variable INSCOV01 that summarizes health insurance coverage for the person in
2001, with the following 3 values:
1 = ANY PRIVATE (Person had any private insurance coverage (including Tricare/VA) any
time during 2001)
2 = PUBLIC ONLY (Person had only public insurance coverage during 2001)
3 = UNINSURED (Person was uninsured during all of 2001)
Please note this variable categorizes Tricare as private
coverage. If an analyst wishes to consider Tricare public coverage, the variable
can easily be reconstructed using the PRVEV01 and TRIEV01 variables.
2.5.7.3 FY 2001 PUF Managed Care Variables
Managed care variables have been constructed from information on
health insurance coverage at any time in a reference period and the characteristics of the
plan. A separate set of managed care variables has been constructed for private insurance
and Medicaid coverage. The purpose of these variables is to provide information on managed
care participation during the portion of the three rounds (i.e., reference periods) that
fall within the same calendar year.
Managed care variables for calendar year 2001 are based on responses
to health insurance questions asked during the Round 3, 4, and 5 interviews of Panel 5, and
the Round 1, 2, and 3 interviews of Panel 6. Each variable ends in "xy" where x
and y denote the interview round for Panels 5 and 6, respectively. The variables ending in
"31" and "42" correspond to the first two interviews of each Panel in
the calendar year. Because Round 3 interviews typically overlap the final months of one year
and the beginning months of the next year, the "31" variables for Panel 5 have
been restricted to the year 2001 portion of the reference period. Similarly, the Panel
5/Round 5 and Panel 6/Round 3 interviews have been restricted to the year 2001 portion of
these reference periods, and the corresponding managed care variables have been given the
suffix "01" (as opposed to "53") to emphasize the restricted time frame.
Construction of the managed care variables is straightforward, but
three caveats are appropriate. First, MEPS estimates of the number of persons in HMOs are
higher than figures reported by other sources, particularly those based on HMO industry
data. The differences stem from the use of household-reported information, which may include
respondent error, to determine HMO coverage in MEPS.
Second, the managed care questions are asked about the last plan held
by a respondent through his or her establishment (employer or insurer) even though the
person could have had a different plan through the establishment at an earlier point during
the interview period. As a result, in instances where a respondent changed his or her
establishment-related insurance, the managed care variables describe the characteristics of
the last plan held through the establishment.
Third, the "01" versions of the managed care variables for
Panel 6 are developed from Round 3 variables that cover different time frames. The health
insurance variable for Round 3 is restricted to the same calendar year as the Round 1 and 2
data. The Round 3 variables describing plan type, on the other hand, overlap the next
calendar year. As a consequence, the Round 3 managed care variables may not describe the
characteristics of the last plan held in the calendar year if the person changed plans after
the first of the year.
Medicaid Managed Care Plans
Persons were assigned Medicaid or SCHIP coverage based on their
responses to the health insurance questions or through logical editing of the survey data.
The number of persons who were edited to have Medicaid or SCHIP coverage is small, but they
are comprised of two distinct groups of individuals. The first group includes persons in
Other Government programs that were identified as being in a Medicaid HMO or gatekeeper plan
that did not require premium payment from the insured party. By definition, this group was
asked about the managed care characteristics of their insurance coverage. The second group
includes a small number of persons who did not report public insurance, but were classified
as Medicaid recipients because they reported receiving AFDC, SSI, or WIC. The health
insurance plan type questions were not asked of this group. As a consequence, the plan type
could be determined for some, but not all, respondents who were assigned Medicaid coverage
through logical editing of the data.
Medicaid HMOs
If Medicaid/SCHIP or Other Government programs were identified as the
source of hospital/physician insurance coverage, the respondent was asked about the
characteristics of the plan. The variables MCDHMO31, MCDHMO42, and MCDHMO01 have been set to
"Yes" if the plan was identified from a list of state names or programs for
Medicaid HMOs in the area, or if an affirmative response was provided to the following
question:
Under {{Medicaid/{STATE NAME FOR MEDICAID}/the program sponsored by
a state or local government agency which provides hospital and physician benefits}
(are/is) (READ NAME(S) FROM BELOW) signed up with an HMO, that is a Health Maintenance
Organization?
[With an HMO, you must generally receive care from HMO physicians.
If another doctor is seen, the expense is not covered unless you were referred by the HMO,
or there was a medical emergency.]
In subsequent rounds, respondents who had been previously identified
as covered by Medicaid were asked whether the name of their insurance plan had changed since
the previous interview. An affirmative response triggered the previous set of questions
about managed care (name on list of Medicaid HMOs or signed up with an HMO).
In each round, the variables MCDHMO31, MCDHMO42, and MCDHMO01 have
five possible values:
1 The person was covered by a Medicaid/SCHIP HMO.
2 The person was covered by Medicaid/SCHIP but the plan was not an HMO.
3 The person was not covered by Medicaid/SCHIP.
-9 The person was covered by Medicaid/SCHIP but the plan type was not ascertained.
-1 The person was out-of-scope.
Medicaid Gatekeeper Plans
If the respondent did not belong to a Medicaid HMO, a third question
was used to determine whether the person was in a gatekeeper plan. The variables MCDMC31,
MCDMC42, and MCDMC01 were set to "Yes" if the person provided an affirmative
response to the following question:
Does {{Medicaid /{STATE NAME FOR MEDICAID}} require (READ NAME(S)
BELOW) to sign up with a certain primary care doctor, group of doctors, or with a certain
clinic which they must go to for all of their routine care?
Probe: Do not include emergency care or care from a specialist to
which they were referred to.
In each round, the variables MCDMC31, MCDMC42, and MCDMC01 have five
possible values:
1 The person was covered by a Medicaid/SCHIP gatekeeper plan.
2 The person was covered by Medicaid/SCHIP, but it was not a gatekeeper plan.
3 The person was not covered by Medicaid/SCHIP.
-9 The person was covered by Medicaid/SCHIP but the plan type was not ascertained.
-1 The person was out-of-scope.
Private Managed Care Plans
Persons with private insurance were identified from their responses
to questions in the health insurance section of the MEPS questionnaire. In some cases,
persons were assigned private insurance as a result of comments collected during the
interview, but data editing was minimal. As a consequence, most persons with private
insurance were asked about the characteristics of their plan, and their responses were used
to identify HMO and gatekeeper plans.
Private HMOs
Persons with private insurance were classified as being covered by an
HMO if they met any of the three following conditions:
- The person reported that his or her insurance was purchased
directly through an HMO,
- The person reporting private insurance coverage identified the
type of insurance company as an HMO, or
- The person answered "Yes" to the following question:
Now I will ask you a few questions about how (POLICYHOLDER)’s
insurance through (ESTABLISHMENT) works for non-emergency care.
We are interested in knowing if (POLICYHOLDER)’s
(ESTABLISHMENT) plan is an HMO, that is, a health maintenance organization. With an HMO,
you must generally receive care from HMO physicians. For other doctors, the expense is not
covered unless you were referred by the HMO or there was a medical emergency. Is
(POLICYHOLDER)’s (INSURER NAME) an HMO?
In subsequent rounds, policyholders were asked whether the name of
their insurance plan had changed since the previous interview. An affirmative response
triggered the detailed question about managed care (i.e., was the insurer an HMO).
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these cases,
if the policyholder identified any plan as an HMO, the variables PRVHMO31, PRVHMO42, and
PRVHMO01 were set to "Yes." If a person had multiple plans and one or more were
identified as not being an HMO and the other(s) had missing plan type information, the
person-level variable was set to missing. Additionally, if a person had multiple plans and
none were identified as an HMO, the person-level variable was set to "No." In
each round, the variables PRVHMO31, PRVHMO42, and PRVHMO01 have five possible values:
1 The person was covered by a private HMO.
2 The person was covered by private insurance, but it was not an HMO.
3 The person was not covered by private insurance.
-9 The person was covered by private insurance, but the plan type was not ascertained.
-1 The person was out-of-scope.
Private Gatekeeper Plans
If the respondent did not report belonging to a private HMO, a follow
up question was used to determine whether the person was in a gatekeeper plan. Persons with
private insurance were classified as being covered by a gatekeeper plan if the person
provided an affirmative response to the following question:
(Do/Does) (POLICYHOLDER)’S insurance plan require
(POLICYHOLDER) to sign up with a certain primary care doctor, group of doctors, or a
certain clinic which (POLICYHOLDER) must go to for all of (POLICYHOLDER)’s routine
care?
Probe: Do not include emergency care or care from a specialist you
were referred to.
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these cases,
if the policyholder identified any plan as a gatekeeper plan, the variables PRVMNC31,
PRVMNC42, and PRVMNC01 were set to "Yes." If a person had multiple plans and one
or more were identified as not being a gatekeeper plan and the other(s) had missing plan
type information, the person-level variable was set to missing. Additionally, if a person
had multiple plans and none were identified as a gatekeeper plan, the person-level variable
was set to "No". In each round, the variables PRVMNC31, PRVMNC42, and PRVMNC01
have five possible values:
1 The person was covered by a private gatekeeper plan.
2 The person was covered by private insurance, but it was not a gatekeeper plan.
3 The person was not covered by private insurance.
-9 The person was covered by private insurance, but the plan type was not ascertained.
-1 The person was out-of-scope.
Private Plan that has a Book or List of Doctors
If the respondent did not report belonging to a private gatekeeper
plan, a follow up question was used to determine whether the person belonged to a plan that
had a book or list of doctors. Persons with private insurance were classified as being
covered by such a plan if the person provided an affirmative response to the following
question:
Is there a book or list of doctors associated with the plan?
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these
cases, if the policyholder identified any plan that had a book or list of doctors, the
variables PRVDRL31, PRVDRL42, and PRVDRL01 were set to "Yes." If a person had
multiple plans and one or more were identified as not being a plan that had a book or
list of doctors and the other(s) had missing information, the person level variable was
set to missing. Additionally, if a person had multiple plans and none were identified as
a plan that had a book or list of doctors, the person level variable was set to "No." In each round, the variables PRVDRL31, PRVDRL42, and PRVDRL01 have five possible
values:
1 The person was covered by a private insurance plan that has a book or list of
doctors.
2 The person was covered by private insurance, but it did not have a book or list of
doctors.
3 The person was not covered by private insurance.
-9 The person was covered by private insurance but the plan type was not ascertained.
-1 The person was out-of-scope.
Private HMO Plans that Pay for Visits to Non-Plan Doctors
If the respondent reported that they belong to a private HMO plan, a
follow up question was used to determine whether the person was in a plan that pays for
visits to non-plan doctors. Persons with private HMO insurance were classified as being
covered by a plan that pays for visits to non-plan doctors if the person provided an
affirmative response to the following question:
Will (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan pay for any of the costs of visits
to doctors who are not associated with (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan, even if
(POLICYHOLDER) (do/does) nothave a referral?
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these cases,
if the policyholder identified any plan as an HMO plan that pays for visits to non-plan
doctors, the variables PHMONP31, PHMONP42, and PHMONP01 were set to "Yes." If a
person had multiple plans and one or more were identified as being an HMO plan that does not
pay for visits to non-plan doctors and the other(s) had missing information, the person
level variable was set to missing. Additionally, if a person had multiple plans and one or
more were identified as being an HMO but none were identified as an HMO plan that pays for
visits to non-plan doctors, the person level variable was set to "No." In each
round, the variables PHMONP31, PHMONP42, and PHMONP01 have four possible values:
1 Person was covered by at least one private insurance source through an HMO, and the
HMO pays for visits to non-plan doctors.
2 Person was covered by at least one private insurance source through an HMO, but the
HMO does not pay for visits to non-plan doctors.
-9 Person was covered by private insurance through an HMO and whether the HMO covers
visits to non-plan doctors was refused, don’t know, or not ascertained.
-1 Person was out-of-scope for the round, was not privately insured at any time in the
round, or was not covered by private insurance through an HMO.
Private Gatekeeper Plans that Pay for Visits to Non-Plan Doctors
If the respondent reported that they belong to a private gatekeeper
plan, a follow up question was used to determine whether the person was in a plan that pays
for visits to non-plan doctors. Persons with private gatekeeper insurance were classified as
being covered by a plan that pays for visits to non-plan doctors if the person provided an
affirmative response to the following question:
Will (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan pay for any of the costs of visits
to doctors who are not associated with (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan, even if
(POLICYHOLDER) (do/does) not have a referral?
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these cases,
if the policyholder identified any plan as a gatekeeper plan that pays for visits to
non-plan doctors, the variables PMNCNP31, PMNCNP42, and PMNCNP01 were set to "Yes." If a person had multiple plans and one or more were identified as being a gatekeeper
plan that does not pay for visits to non-plan doctors and the other(s) had missing
information, the person level variable was set to missing. Additionally, if a person had
multiple plans and one or more was identified as being a gatekeeper plan, but none were
identified as a gatekeeper plan that pays for visits to non-plan doctors, the person level
variable was set to "No." In each round, the variables PMNCNP31, PMNCNP42, and
PMNCNP01 have four possible values:
1 Person was covered by at least one private insurance source through a Gatekeeper Plan,
and the plan pays for visits to non-plan doctors.
2 Person was covered by at least one private insurance source through a Gatekeeper Plan,
but the plan does not pay for visits to non-plan doctors.
-9 Person was covered by private insurance through a Gatekeeper Plan, and whether the plan
covers visits to non-plan doctors was refused, don’t know, or not ascertained.
-1 Person was out-of-scope for the round, was not privately insured at any time in the
round, or was not covered by private insurance through a Gatekeeper Plan.
Private Plan that has a Book or List of Doctor that Pays for Non-Plan Visits
If the respondent reported that they belong to a plan that had a book
or list of doctors, a follow up question was used to determine whether the person was in a
plan that pays for visits to non-plan doctors. Persons with a private insurance plan that
has a book or list of doctors were classified as being covered by a plan that pays for
visits to non-plan doctors if the person provided an affirmative response to the following
question:
Will (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan pay for any of the costs of visits
to doctors who are not associated with (POLICYHOLDER)’s plan, even if
(POLICYHOLDER) (do/does) not have a referral?
Some insured persons have more than one private plan. In these cases,
if the policyholder identified any plan as a plan that had a book or list of doctors and
that pays for visits to non-plan doctors, the variables PRDRNP31, PRDRNP42, and PRDRNP01
were set to "Yes." If a person had multiple plans and one or more were identified
as being a plan that had a book or list of doctors that does not pay for visits to non-plan
doctors and the other(s) had missing information, the person level variable was set to
missing. Additionally, if a person had multiple plans and one or more were identified as
being a plan with a book of list of doctors, but none were identified as a plan that had a
book or list of doctors that pays for visits to non-plan doctors, the person level variable
was set to "No." In each round, the variables PRDRNP31, PRDRNP42, and PRDRNP01
have four possible values:
1 Person was covered by at least one private insurance plan with a book or list of doctors,
and the plan pays for visits to non-plan doctors.
2 Person was covered by at least one private insurance plan with a book or list of doctors,
but the plan does not pay for visits to non-plan doctors.
-9 Person was covered by at least one private insurance plan with a book or list of
doctors, and whether the plan covers visits to non-plan doctors was refused, don’t
know, or not ascertained.
-1 Person was out-of-scope for the round, was not privately insured at any time in the
round, or was not covered by any private insurance plan with a book or list of doctors.
2.5.7.4 Unedited Health Insurance Variables (PREVCOVR-LIMITOT) Duration of Uninsurance
If a person was identified as being without insurance as of January
1st in the MEPS Round 1 interview, a series of follow-up questions were asked to determine
the duration of uninsurance prior to the start of the MEPS survey. If the person said
he/she was covered by insurance in the 2 years prior to the MEPS Round 1 interview
(PREVCOVR), the month, year (COVRMM, COVRYY), and type of coverage (Employer-sponsored
(WASESTB), Medicare (WASMCARE), Medicaid (WASMCAID), CHAMPUS/CHAMPVA (WASCHAMP), VA/Military
Care (WASVA), Other public (WASOTGOV, WASAFDC,WASSSI, WASSTAT1-2, WASOTHER) or Private
coverage purchased through a group, association or insurance company (WASPRIV) was
ascertained. For persons who were covered by health insurance on January 1st, it was
ascertained if they were ever without health insurance in the previous year (NOINSBEF). The
number of weeks/months without health insurance was also ascertained (NOINSTM, NOINUNIT).
For persons who reported only non-comprehensive coverage as of January 1st, a question was
asked to determine if they had been covered by more comprehensive coverage that paid for
medical and doctors bills in the previous 2 years (MORCOVR). If they were, the most recent
month and year of coverage was ascertained (INSENDMM, INSENDYY) as was the type of coverage
(see the variable names above). Note that these variables are unedited and have been taken
directly as they were recorded from the raw data. There may be inconsistencies with the
health insurance variables released on public use files that indicate that an individual is
uninsured in January.
Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions/ Denial of Insurance
All individuals, regardless of their insurance status, were also
asked in Round 1 if they had ever been denied insurance (DENYINSR) and if so, due to what
conditions (DNYCANC, DNYHYPER, DNYDIAB, DNYCORON, DENYOTH). Individuals insured in January
were asked whether there were any limitations or restrictions on their plans due to any
physical or mental health condition (INSLIMIT) and if so, which conditions caused these
limitations or restrictions (LMTBACK and LIMITOT). Individuals under age 65 without any
coverage in January were also asked if they had ever tried to purchase health insurance
(INSLOOK). It should be noted that conditions collected in these questions were not recorded
on the condition roster.
Note that the duration of uninsurance, limitation, denial and ever
looked for insurance questions were only asked in Round 1. These variables are included on
the file only for individuals in Panel 6 since Panel 6 's Round 1 occurred in 2001 but Panel
5 's Round 1 occurred in 2000 . Round 1 data for Panel 5 members is contained on the 2000
Consolidated Full Year File (HC-050). The unedited health insurance variables are included
on this file to facilitate longitudinal analysis. However, since they are not available for
Panel 5, Round 3, they cannot be used to generate national estimates for the estimation
year.
2.5.7.5 Health Insurance Coverage Variables (TRICR31X - INSAT01X)
Constructed and edited variables are provided that indicate health
insurance coverage at any time in a given round as well as at the MEPS interview dates and
on December 31st, 2001. Note that for respondents who left the RU before the MEPS interview
date or before December 31st, the variables measuring coverage at the interview date or on
December 31st represent coverage at the date the person left the RU. In addition, since
Round 5 only covers the time period from the Round 4 interview date up to December 31st,
values for the December 31st variables are equivalent to those for Round 5 variables for
Panel 4 members.
The health insurance variables are constructed for the sources of
health insurance coverage collected during the MEPS interviews (Panel 4, Rounds 3 through 5
and Panel 5, Rounds 1 through 3). Note that the Medicare variables on this file as well as
the private insurance variables that indicate the particular source of private coverage
(rather than any private coverage) only measure coverage at the interview date and on
December 31st. Users should also note that while the same general editing rules were
followed for the month-by-month health insurance variables released on other MEPS public use
files and those on this file, in a small number of cases the month-by-month variables
experienced further edits performed after the variables on this file were completed. Since
editing programs checking for consistencies between these sets of variables developed over
time, there should be fewer discrepancies in data for calendar year 1998 and beyond than in
data for the years 1996 and 1997.
In Rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5, insurance that was in effect at the previous
round’s interview date was reviewed with the respondent. Most of the insurance
variables have been logically edited to address issues that arose during such reviews in
Rounds 2, 3, 4, and 5. One edit to the private insurance variables corrects for a problem
concerning covered benefits that occurred when respondents reported a change in any of their
private health insurance plan names. Additional edits address issues of missing data on the
time period of coverage for both public and private coverage that was either reviewed or
initially reported in a given round. For Tricare coverage (TRICR31X, TRICR42X, TRICR53X,
TRICR01X, TRIAT31X, TRIAT42X, TRIAT53X, TRIAT01X), respondents who were age 65 and over had
their reported Tricare coverage overturned. Additional edits, described below, were
performed on the Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP variables to assign persons to coverage from
these sources. Observations that contain edits assigning person to Medicare or
Medicaid/SCHIP coverage can be identified by comparing the edited and unedited versions of
the Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP variables.
Public sources include Medicare, Tricare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and other
public hospital/physician coverage. State-specific program participation (STAPR31, STAPR42,
STAPR53, STAPR01, STPRAT31, STPRAT42, STPRAT53, STPRAT01) in non-comprehensive coverage was
also identified but is not considered health insurance for the purpose of this survey.
Medicare
Medicare (MCARE31, MCARE42, MCARE53 and MCARE01) coverage was edited
(MCARE31X, MCARE42X, MCARE53X and MCARE01X) 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; or
They were covered by Medicaid, SCHIP, other public hospital/physician coverage or Medigap coverage: or
Their spouse was covered by Medicare.
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 or SCHIP recipients who may not have recognized their
coverage as such. These questions were asked only if a respondent did not report Medicaid
or SCHIP 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 (MCAID31, MCAID42, MCAID53, MCAID01) have been
edited 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 (MCAID31X, MCAID42X, MCAID53X, MCAID01X, MCDAT31X, MCDAT42X,
MCDAT53X, MCDAT01X). The Medicaid variables also include those identified as covered by
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
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 (OTPUBA31, OTPUBA42, OTPUBA53,
OTPUBA01, OTPAAT31, OTPAAT42, OTPAAT53, OTPAAT01); and
The respondent did not report any managed care, Other Public B
insurance (OTPUBB31, OTPUBB42, OTPUBB53, OTPUBB01, OTPBAT31, OTPBAT42, OTPBAT53,
OTPBAT01).
The variables for Other Public A and B Insurance 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
The file also includes summary measures that indicate whether or not
a sample person has any public insurance during a given round, at the interview date, or on
December 31st (PUB31X, PUB42X, PUB53X, PUB01X, PUBAT31X, PUBAT42X PUBAT53X and PUBAT01X).
Persons identified as covered by public insurance are those reporting coverage under
Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, or other public hospital/physician programs. Persons
covered only by state-specific programs that did not provide comprehensive coverage
(STAPR31, STAPR42, STAPR53, STAPR01, STPRAT31, STPRAT42, STPRAT53, STPRAT01), for example,
Maryland Kidney Disease Program, were not considered to have public coverage when
constructing the variables PUB31X.....PUBAT01X.
Private Insurance
Variables identifying private insurance in general (PRIV31, PRIV42,
PRIV53, PRIV01, PRIVAT31, PRIVAT42, PRIVAT53, PRIVAT01) and specific private insurance
sources [such as employer/union group insurance (PRIEU31, PRIEU42, PRIEU53, PRIEU01);
non-group (PRING31, PRING42, PRING53, PRING01); and other group (PRIOG31, PRIOG42, PRIOG53,
PRIOG01)] were constructed. Variables indicating any private insurance coverage are
available for the following time periods: at any time in a given round, at the interview
date and on December 31st. The variables for the specific sources of private coverage are
only available for coverage on the interview dates and on December 31st. Note that these
variables indicate coverage within a source and do not distinguish between persons who are
covered on one or more than one policy within a given source. In some cases, the
policyholder was unable to characterize the source of insurance (PRIDK31, PRIDK42, PRIDK53,
PRIDK01). Covered persons are also identified when the policyholder is living outside the RU
(PROUT31, PROUT42, PROUT53, PROUT01). An individual was considered to have private health
insurance 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 (PRIEU31, PRIEU42, PRIEU53,
PRIEU01) 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 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 (PRIS31, PRIS42, PRIS53, PRIS01) was initially reported in
the Employment Section and verified in the Health Insurance Section. Unlike the other
employment-related variables, self-employed-firm size 1 health insurance could not be
reported in the Health Insurance section for the first time. The variables PRIS31, PRIS42,
PRIS53, PRIS01 have been constructed to allow users to determine if the insurance should be
considered employment-related.
Private insurance that was not employment-related was reported in the
Health Insurance section only.
Any Insurance in Period
The file also includes summary measures that indicate whether or not
a person has any insurance in a round, at an interview date or on December 31st (INS31X,
INS42X, INS53X, INSAT31X, INSAT42X, INSAT53X, INSAT01X). Persons identified as insured are
those reporting coverage under Tricare, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, 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 (STAPR31, STAPR42, STAPR53, STAPR01, STPRAT31, STPRAT42,
STPRAT53, STPRAT01), 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 be insured when constructing the
variables INS31X, INS42X, INS53X, INSAT31X, INSAT42X, INSAT53X and INSAT01X.
Dental and Prescription Drug Private Insurance Variables
(DENTIN31-DENTIN53)
Dental Private Insurance Variables
Round specific variables (DENTIN31/42/53) are provided that indicate
the respondent was covered by a private health insurance plan that included at least some
dental coverage for each round of 2001. It should be noted that the information was elicited
from a pick-list, code all that apply, question that asked what type of health insurance
person obtained through an establishment. The list included: hospital and physician benefits
including coverage through an HMO, Medigap coverage, vision coverage, dental, and
prescription drugs. It is possible that some dental coverage provided by hospital and
physician plans was not independently enumerated in this question. Users should also note
that persons with missing information on dental benefits for all reported private plans and
those who reported that they did not have dental coverage for one or more plans but had
missing information on other plans are coded as not having private dental coverage.
Respondents who reported dental coverage from at least one reported private plan were coded
as having private dental coverage.
Prescription Drug Private Insurance Variables
Round specific variables (PMEDIN31/42/53) are provided that indicate
the respondent was covered by a private health insurance plan that included at least some
prescription drug insurance coverage for each round of 2001. It should be noted that the
information was elicited from a pick-list, code all that apply, question that asked what
type of health insurance a person obtained through an establishment. The list included:
hospital and physician benefits including coverage through an HMO, Medigap coverage, vision
coverage, dental, and prescription drugs. It is possible some prescription drug coverage
provided by hospital and physician plans was not independently enumerated in this question.
Respondents who reported prescription drug coverage from at least one reported private plan
were coded as having private prescription drug coverage. Users should note that persons with
missing information on prescription drug benefits for all reported private plans and those
who reported that they did not have prescription drug coverage for one or more plans but had
missing information on other plans are coded as not having private prescription drug
coverage.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.8 Disability Days Indicator Variables (DDNWRK31- OTHNDD53)
The disability days section of the core interview contains questions
about time lost from work or school and days spent in bed because of a physical illness or
injury, or a mental or emotional problem. Data were collected on each individual in the
household. These questions were repeated in each round of interviews; this file contains
data from Rounds 3, 4, and 5 of the MEPS panel 5 initiated in 2000 and Rounds 1, 2, and 3 of
the MEPS panel 6 initiated in 2001 respectively. The number at the end of the variable name
(31, 42 or 53) identifies the Rounds in which the information was collected.
The reference period for these questions is the time period between
the beginning of the panel or the previous interview date and the current interview date. In
order to establish the length of a round, analysts are referred to the variables that
indicate the beginning date and ending date of each Round (BEGREFD, BEGREFM, BEGREFY,
ENDREFD, ENDREFM, ENDREFY). Analysts should be aware that Round 3 was conducted across
years. Some data from Round 3 thus pertains to the following year. The number of disability
days in Round 3 that occurred in each calendar year was not ascertained. If analysts want to
create an indicator of disability days for a given calendar year, some adjustment must be
made to the Round 3 data. Analysts who want to estimate disability days for a given calendar
year will need to develop an algorithm for deciding what portion of reported disability days
occurred in the year of interest and what portion occurred in the following year.
The variables DDNWRK31, DDNWRK42 and DDNWRK53 represent the number of
times the respondent lost a half-day or more from work because of illness, injury or mental
or emotional problems during Rounds 31, 42, and 53, respectively. A response of "no
work days lost" was coded zero; if the respondent did not work, these variables were
coded -1 (inapplicable), for some analyses these values may have to be recoded to zero.
Respondents who were less than 16 years old were not asked about work days lost, thus these
variables are also coded -1 (inapplicable).
WKINBD31, WKINBD42 and WKINBD53 represent the number of work days
lost during each round in which the respondent spent at least half of the day in bed. These
questions were asked only of persons aged 16 and over. Persons aged 15 or younger received a
code of -1 (inapplicable). If a respondent answered the preceding work loss question with
"zero days" or "does not work", then the corresponding WKINBD question
was coded as -1 (inapplicable).
DDNSCL31, DDNSCL42 and DDNSCL53 indicate the number of times that a
respondent missed a half-day or more of school during Rounds 31, 42, or 53, respectively.
These questions were asked of persons aged 3 to 22; respondents aged less than 3 or older
than 22 did not receive these questions and are coded as -1 on these variables (in a small
number of cases this was not done for the 1996 data, the analyst will need to make this edit
when doing longitudinal analyses). A code of -1 also indicates that the person does not
attend school. The analyst should be aware that there was no attempt to reconcile school
days lost with the time of year (e.g., summer vacation). In order to establish time of year,
analysts are referred to the variables that indicate the beginning date and ending date of
each Round (BEGREFD, BEGREFM, BEGREFY, ENDREFD, ENDREFM, ENDREFY).
SCLNBD31, SCLNBD42 and SCLNBD53 represent the number of school days
lost during each round in which the individual spent at least a half-day in bed. Respondents
aged less than 3 or older than 22 did not receive these questions and are coded as -1 on
these variables (in a small number of cases this was not done for the 1996 data, the analyst
will need to make this edit when doing longitudinal analyses). If a respondent answered the
preceding school days lost question with "zero days" or "does not attend
school", then the corresponding SCLNBD question is coded as -1 (inapplicable).
DDBDYS31, DDBDYS42 and DDBDYS53 represent additional days, other than
school or work days, in which the respondent spent at least half a day in bed, because of a
physical illness, injury or a mental or emotional problem. These are the only indicators of
disability days for persons who do not work or go to school. This question was not asked of
children less than one year of age (coded -1).
A final set of variables indicate if an individual took a half-day or
more off from work to care for the health problems of another individual in the family.
OTHDYS31, OTHDYS42, and OTHDYS53 indicate if a person missed work because of someone else's
illness, injury or health care needs, for example to take care of a sick child or relative.
These variables each have three possible answers: yes - missed work to care for another
(coded 1); no did not miss work to care for another (coded 2); or the person does not
work (coded 2), based on responses to the DDNWRK variable for the same Round. Respondents
younger than 16 were not asked these questions and are coded as -1 (in a small number of
cases this was not done for the 1996 data, the analyst will need to make this edit when
doing longitudinal analyses).
OTHNDD31, OTHNDD42 and OTHNDD53 indicate the number of days during
each round in which work was lost because of another's health problem. Respondents younger
than 16, those who do not work, and those who answer "no" to OTHDYS are skipped
out of OTHNDD and receive codes of -1.
For respondents with positive weights, a minimal amount of editing
was done on these variables to preserve the skip patterns. No imputation was done for those
with missing data.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.9 Access to Care Variables (ACCELI42-OTHRPR42)
The variables ACCELI42 through OTHRPR42 describe data from the Access
to Care section of the HC questionnaire, which was administered in Panel 5 Round 4 and Panel
6 Round 2 of the MEPS HC. This supplement serves a number of purposes in the MEPS HC by
gathering information on three main topic areas: whether each family member has a usual
source of health care, the characteristics of usual source of health care providers for the
family, and barriers the family has faced in obtaining needed health care. The variable
ACCELI42 indicates whether persons were eligible to receive the Access to Care questions.
Persons with ACCELI42= -1 should be excluded from estimates made with the Access to Care
data.
Family members' usual source of health care. For each
individual family member, MEPS HC ascertains whether there is a particular doctor's office,
clinic, health center, or other place that the individual usually goes to if he/she is sick
or needs advice about his/her health (HAVEUS42). For those family members who do not have a
usual source of health care, MEPS HC ascertains the reason(s) why (YNOUSC42 through
OTHREA42). If any family members changed their usual source of health care during the 12
months prior to the interview, MEPS HC gathers information on the reason why this change was
made (CHNGUS42 through YNOMOR42).
Characteristics of usual source of health care providers for
the family. For each unique usual source of care provider for a given family, MEPS
HC asks for information on the following characteristics of the usual source of care
provider:
- is the provider a medical doctor or some other type
of medical provider (followed by questions which ask either the provider's
medical specialty or the type of non-physician provider) (TYPEPE42), and is
the provider hospital-based (TYPEPL42 and LOCATI42);
- is the provider the person or place family members
would go to for new health problems, preventive health care, and referrals to
other health professionals (MINORP42 through REFFRL42);
- does the provider have office hours nights and
weekends, characteristics of the provider related to appointments and waiting
time, ease of contacting a medical person at the provider's office by
telephone (OFFHOU42 through PHONED42);
- a number of quality-related characteristics of the
provider, including whether the provider generally listens to family members,
asks about prescription medications other doctors may give them, and family
members' confidence in and satisfaction with the care received from the
provider (PRLIST42 through USCQUA42).
Family barriers. Finally, the Access to Care
supplement gathers information on barriers to health care for the family. This includes one
question that asks if any family members have recently gone without needed health care
because the family needed money to buy food, clothing, or pay for housing (NOCARE42). In
addition, the respondent is asked to rate his/her satisfaction with the ability of family
members to obtain health care if needed (HCNEED42). A series of two questions is asked to
directly assess whether any family members experienced difficulty in obtaining any type of
health care, delayed obtaining care, or did not receive health care they thought they needed
due to any of the following reasons (OBTAIN42 through OTHRPR42):
- Financial/Insurance Problems, including couldn't
afford care; insurance company wouldn't approve, cover, or pay for care;
pre-existing condition; insurance required a referral, but couldn't get one;
doctor refused to accept family's insurance plan;
- Transportation Problems, including medical care was
too far away; can't drive or don't have car/no public transportation
available; too expensive to get there;
- Communication Problems, including hearing impairment
or loss; different language;
- Physical Problems, including hard to get into
building; hard to get around inside building; no appropriate equipment in
office;
- Other Problems, including couldn't get time off
work; didn't know where to go to get care; was refused services; couldn't get
child care; didn't have time or took too long.
Editing of the Access to Care Variables
Editing consisted primarily of logical editing for consistency with
skip patterns. Other editing included the construction of new variables describing the USC
provider, and recoding several "other specify" text items into existing or new
categorical values, which are described below.
Not all variables or categories that appear in the Access to Care
section are included on the file, as some small cell sizes have been suppressed to maintain
respondent confidentiality. This affects the following questions:
AC03: Category 5 was combined with 91 OTHER REASON (YNOUSC42)
AC11: Category 7 was combined with 10 OTHER NON-MD PROVIDER (TYPEPE42).
AC23: Categories 2, 4 and 8 were combined with 91 OTHER REASON (YNOMOR42)
AC25A: Categories 9, 11, 12, 13 and 17 were combined with 91 OTHER (MAINPR42)
Constructed Variables Describing the Usual Source of Care Provider
The variables PROVTY42, TYPEPL42, TYPEPE42 and LOCATI42 provide
information on the type and location of the usual source of care provider. These variables
were constructed as follows, using one or more questionnaire items which are not included on
the file:
PROVTY42 was constructed from items in the Provider Roster Section
(available as a downloadable file on the MEPS Home Page), and has the following possible
values:
1 FACILITY
2 PERSON
3 PERSON IN FACILITY PROVIDER
Question PV01 asks whether the provider is a person or a facility.
For providers designated as a person, the responses to item PV05 (which indicates if the
provider is part of a group practice or HMO) and items PV03/ PV10 (which indicate the
provider's address), were used to determine if the provider is a "person in facility
" provider (i.e., a person for whom both person and facility characteristics are known,
such as "Dr. X at Y Medical Associates").
TYPEPE42 was constructed from responses to items AC10, AC11, AC11OV,
AC12 and AC12OV in the Access to Care Section and describes the type of medical provider
for providers indicated as person or person in facility providers (records with PROVTY42 =
1 have a value of -1 for TYPEPE42). TYPEPE42 has the following possible values:
1 MD - GENERAL/FAMILY PRACTICE
2 MD - INTERNAL MEDICINE
3 MD - PEDIATRICS
4 MD - OB/GYN
5 MD - SURGERY
6 MD - OTHER
7 CHIROPRACTOR
8 NURSE/NURSE PRACTITIONER
9 PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT
10 OTHER NON-MD PROVIDER
11 UNKNOWN
Note that the value 6 MD-OTHER includes doctors of osteopathy, as
well as a small number of medical doctors whose specialty is unknown.
TYPEPL42 was constructed from responses to Access to Care items AC06
and AC07 and describes the type of place corresponding to the usual source of care provider
with the following values:
1 HOSPITAL CLINIC OR OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT
2 PRIVATE OFFICE IN HOSPITAL
3 HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM
4 NON-HOSPITAL PLACE
TYPEPL42 was only constructed for cases with provider type indicated
as facility or person in facility provider (records with PROVTY42=2 have a value of -1 for
TYPEPL42).
LOCATI42 was constructed from the variables PROVTY42 and TYPEPL42,
and describes the location of the provider as either office based or hospital based, and if
hospital based, as either emergency room or non-emergency room. LOCATI42 has the following
values:
1 OFFICE
2 HOSPITAL, NOT EMERGENCY ROOM
3 HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM
Note that all cases with PROVTY42=2 PERSON have LOCATI42 = 1 OFFICE.
These 4 variables in combination describe the usual source of care
provider. For example, a group practice or clinic with no particular person named is coded as:
PROVTY42 = 1 FACILITY, LOCATI42 = 1 OFFICE and TYPEPE42 = -1 INAPPLICABLE.
Re-coding of Additional Other Specify Text Items
For Access to Care items AC03, AC04, AC08, AC09, AC21 and AC23, the
other specify text responses were reviewed and coded as an existing or new value for the
related categorical variable (for AC03, AC08, AC21 and AC23), or coded as an existing or new
"yes/no" variable (for items AC04 and AC09). The following are the new codes or
variables which were created from these other specify text responses.
for item AC03 - this new value was constructed for the variable
YNOUSC42:
10 OTHER INSURANCE RELATED REASON
for item AC04 - the new variable OTHINS42 was constructed for
insurance-related reasons
for item AC08 - these new values were constructed for the variable
YGOTOU42:
8 MILITARY/VA
10 INSURANCE RELATED REASON
for item AC09 - the new variable INSREA42 was constructed for
insurance-related reasons
for item AC21 - these new values were constructed for the variable
YCHNGU42:
9 OTHER INSURANCE-RELATED REASON
10 JOB RELATED REASON
11 NEW DOCTOR WAS REFERRED OR RECOMMENDED
12 OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT OLD DOCTOR
for item AC23 - these new values were constructed for the variable
YNOMOR42:
9 SELDOM OR NEVER SICK/NO NEED FOR DOCTOR
10 OTHER INSURANCE-RELATED REASON
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10 Health Status Variables (RTHLTH31-DSPRX53)
Due to the overlapping panel design of the MEPS (Round 3 for Panel 5
overlapped with Round 1 for Panel 6, Round 4 for Panel 5 coincided with Round 2 for Panel 6,
and Round 5 for Panel 5 occurred at the same time as Round 3 for Panel 6), data from
overlapping rounds have been combined across panels. Thus, any variable ending in “31
” reflects data obtained in Round 3 of Panel 5 and Round 1 of Panel 6. Analogous
comments apply to variables ending in “42” and “53”. Health Status
variables whose names end in “01” indicate a full-year measurement.
This data release incorporates information from calendar year 2001.
However, health status data obtained in Round 3 of both Panel 5 and Panel 6 are included in
variables that have names ending in "31" and "53" respectively. For
persons in Panel 5, Round 3 extended from 2000 into 2001. Therefore, for these people, some
information from late 2000 is included for variables that have names ending in "31".
For persons in Panel 6, Round 3 extended from 2001 into 2002. Therefore, for these people,
some information from early 2002 is included for variables that have names ending in "53
". Note that for most Panel 5 persons, the Round 5 reference period ends on December 31,
2001; however, the Round 5 interview actually occurs in 2002. Round 5 respondents receive an
instruction at the start of the Health Status (HE) section of CAPI to limit information about
health status and limitations to the period ending on December 31, 2001. Nevertheless, if
respondents forget or ignore this reference period instruction, some information collected in
this section in Round 5 (variables ending in "53") might reflect circumstances in
early 2002. Further, health status questions asked in the Condition Enumeration (CE),
Preventive Care (AP), and Priority Conditions (PC) sections of CAPI in Round 5 do not contain
a similar explicit instruction that the reference period ends on December 31, 2001, although
this is stated at the start of the overall interview. Hence, in these sections, respondents
may also be providing health status information that pertains to 2002.
Health Status variables in this data release can be classified into
several conceptually distinct sets:
- Perceived health status and ADL and IADL limitations
- Functional limitations and activity limitations
- Vision problems
- Hearing problems
- Any limitations
- Child health and preventive care
- Preventive care
- Priority conditions
- Self-administered questionnaire
- Diabetes care survey
Perceived health status and ADL and IADL limitations were measured in
all rounds. Functional and activity limitations were measured in Rounds 3 and 5 for Panel 5
and Rounds 1 and 3 for Panel 6. Vision, hearing, and children’s health status were
measured in Round 4 for Panel 5 and Round 2 for Panel 6. Preventive care and priority
conditions were measured in Round 5 of Panel 5 and Round 3 of Panel 6. The self-administered
questionnaire was distributed in Round 4 of Panel 5 and Round 2 of Panel 6. The diabetes care
supplement was distributed in Round 5 of Panel 5 and Round 3 of Panel 6.
In general, 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. Many 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. All information ascertained at the family-level has been brought to the
person-level for this file. Logical edits were performed in constructing the person-level
variables to assure 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 pattern in the survey (e.g., individuals who were 13 years of age or older were not
asked some follow-up verification questions; individuals older than 17 were not asked
questions pertaining to children’s health status). Inapplicable cases are coded as
-1. In addition, deceased persons were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1).
Each of the sets of variables listed above will be described in turn.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.1 Perceived Health Status and IADL and ADL Limitations
Perceived Health Status. Perceived health status (RTHLTH31,
RTHLTH42, and RTHLTH53) and perceived mental health status (MNHLTH31, MNHLTH42, and MNHLTH53)
were collected in the Condition Enumeration section. These questions (CE01 and CE02) asked
the respondent to rate each person in the family according to the following categories:
excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. The corresponding variables, RTPROX31,
RTPROX42, RTPROX53, MNPROX31, MNPROX42, and MNPROX53, each indicate whether the ratings of
physical and mental health were provided by oneself or by someone else.
IADL Help. The Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)
Help or Supervision variables (IADLHP31, IADLHP42, and IADLHP53) were each constructed from a
series of three questions administered in the Health Status section of the interview. 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(s) 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”, IADLHP31,
IADLHP42, and IADLHP53 were coded “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 “Refused
” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), 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).
ADL Help. The Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Help or
Supervision variables (ADLHLP31, ADLHLP42, and ADLHLP53) were each constructed in the same
manner as the IADL help variables, but using questions HE04-HE06. Coding conventions for
missing data were the same as for the IADL variables.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.2 Functional and Activity Limitations
Functional Limitations. A series of questions pertained to
functional limitations, which are defined as difficulty in performing certain specific
physical actions. WLKLIM31 and WLKLIM53 were the filter questions, depending on the Round.
These variables were 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 WLKLIM31 or WLKLIM53. If the answer was “Yes”, then the specific persons who
had any of these difficulties were identified and coded as “Yes” (1), and
remaining family members were coded as “No” (2). If the response to the
family-level question was “Don’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7),
“Not Ascertained” (-9), or “Inapplicable” (-1), then the corresponding
missing value code was applied to each family member’s value for WLKLIM31 or WLKLIM53.
If the answer to HE09 was “Yes” (1) but no specific individual was named as
experiencing such difficulties, then each family member was assigned “Don’t Know
” (-8). Deceased persons were assigned a -1 code (“Inapplicable”) for
WLKLIM31 or WLKLIM53.
For Rounds 3 (Panel 5) and 1 (Panel 6), if WLKLIM31 was coded “Yes” (1) for any
family member, a subsequent series of questions was administered. The series of questions
for which WLKLIM31 served as a filter is as follows:
LFTDIF31 - difficulty lifting 10 pounds
STPDIF31 - difficulty walking up 10 steps
WLKDIF31 - difficulty walking 3 blocks
MILDIF31 - difficulty walking a mile
STNDIF31 - difficulty standing 20 minutes
BENDIF31 - difficulty bending or stooping
RCHDIF31 - difficulty reaching over head
FNGRDF31 - difficulty using fingers to grasp
This series of questions was asked separately for each person whose
response to WLKLIM31 was coded “Yes” (1). The series of questions was not asked
for other individual family members whose response to WLKLIM31 was “No” (2). In
addition, this series was not asked about family members who were less than 13 years of age,
regardless of their status on WLKLIM31. These questions were not asked about deceased family
members. In such cases (i.e., WLKLIM31 = 2, or age < 13, or PSTATS31 = 31), each question
in the series was coded as “Inapplicable” (-1). Finally, if responses to WLKLIM31
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 WLKLIM31 was asked of all household members,
regardless of age. For the subsequent series of questions, however, 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 “Yes” (1) on WLKLIM31, and also to have
codes of “Inapplicable” on the subsequent series of questions.
For Rounds 5 (Panel 5) and 3 (Panel 6), the corresponding filter
question was WLKLIM53.
The series of questions for which WLKLIM53 served as a filter is as
follows:
LFTDIF53 - difficulty lifting 10 pounds
STPDIF53 - difficulty walking up 10 steps
WLKDIF53 - difficulty walking 3 blocks
MILDIF53 - difficulty walking a mile
STNDIF53 - difficulty standing 20 minutes
BENDIF53 - difficulty bending or stooping
RCHDIF53 - difficulty reaching over head
FNGRDF53 - difficulty using fingers to grasp
Editing conventions were the same for this “53” series of
variables as they were for the corresponding “31” series described above.
Use of Assistive Technology and Social/Recreational Limitations.
The variables indicating use of assistive technology (AIDHLP31 and AIDHLP53, from question
HE07) and social/recreational limitations (SOCLIM31 and SOCLIM53, from question HE22) were
collected initially at the family-level. If there was a “Yes” (1) 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” (1) for the appropriate variable; all remaining family members were
coded “No”. If the family-level response was “Refused” (-7), “
Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), 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).
Work, Housework, and School Limitations. The variables
indicating any limitation in work, housework, or school (ACTLIM31 and ACTLIM53) were
constructed using questions HE19-HE20. Specifically, information was collected initially at
the family-level. If there was a “Yes” (1) response to the family-level question
(HE19), a second question (HE20) identified the specific individual(s) to whom the “Yes
” (1) response pertained. Each individual identified as having a limitation was coded
“Yes” (1) for the appropriate variable; all remaining family members were coded
“No” (2). If the family-level response was “Refused” (-7), “Don
’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), all persons were coded with
the family-level response. In cases where the family-level response was “Yes” (1)
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 ACTLIM31 and ACTLIM53.
For Round 3 (Panel 5) or Round 1 (Panel 6), if ACTLIM31 was “Yes
” (1) 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 (WRKLIM31), doing housework (HSELIM31), or going to school (SCHLIM31). Respondents could
answer “Yes” (1) or “No” (2) to each activity; thus a person could
report limitations in multiple activities. WRKLIM31, HSELIM31, and SCHLIM31 have values of
“Yes” (1) or “No” (2) only if ACTLIM31 was “Yes” (1); each
variable was coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) if ACTLIM31 was “No” (2).
When ACTLIM31 was “Refused” (-7), these variables were all coded as “
Refused” (-7); when ACTLIM31 was “Don’t Know” (-8), these variables
were all coded as “Don’t Know” (-8); and when ACTLIM31 was “Not
Ascertained” (-9), these variables were all coded as “Not Ascertained”
(-9). If a person was under 5 years old or was deceased, WRKLIM31, HSELIM31, and SCHLIM31
were each coded as “Inapplicable” (-1).
An additional question (UNABLE31) was asked if the person was
completely unable to work at a job, do housework, or go to school. Those respondents who were
coded “No” (2), “Refused” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8),
or “Not Ascertained” (-9) on ACTLIM31, were under 5 years of age, or were deceased
were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) on UNABLE31. UNABLE31 was asked once for
whichever set of WRKLIM31, HSELIM31, and SCHLIM31 the respondent had limitations; if a
respondent was limited in more than one of these three activities, UNABLE31 did not specify if
the respondent was completely unable to perform all of them, or only some of them.
For Rounds 5 (Panel 5) or 3 (Panel 6) corresponding variables were
ACTLIM53, WRKLIM53, HSELIM53, SCHLIM53, and UNABLE53. Editing conventions were the same as
those described above.
Cognitive Limitations. The variables indicating any cognitive
limitation (COGLIM31 or COGLIM53, depending on the round) were collected at the family-level
as a three-part question (HE24-01 to HE24-03), asking 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 COGLIM31 or COGLIM53 was coded as “Yes
” (1). Remaining family members not identified were coded as “No” (2) for
COGLIM31 or COGLIM53.
If responses to HE24-01 through HE24-03 were all “No”, or
if two of three were “No” (2) and the remaining was “Refused” (-7),
“Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), all family members
were coded as “No” (2). If responses to the three questions were combinations of
“Don’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), and missing, all persons were
coded as “Don’t Know” (-8). If the response to any of the three questions
was “Yes” (1) but no individual was identified in HE25, all persons were coded as
“Don’t Know” (-8).
The cognitive limitations variables (COGLIM31 and COGLIM53) reflect
whether any of the three component questions is “Yes” (1). 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.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.3 Vision Problems
A series of questions (HE26 to HE32) provides information on visual
impairment. These questions were asked of all household members, regardless of age. Deceased
respondents were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1).
WRGLAS42 indicates whether a person wears eyeglasses or contact
lenses. This variable was based on two questions, HE26 and HE27. The initial question (HE26)
determined if anyone in the family wore eyeglasses or contact lenses. If the response was
“Yes” (1), a follow-up question (HE27) was asked to determine which household
member(s) wore eyeglasses or contact lenses. If the family-level response was “Don
’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or “Not Ascertained” (-9),
all persons were coded with the family-level response. In cases where the family-level
response was “Yes” (1) but no specific individual was identified as wearing
glasses or contact lenses, all family members were coded as “Don’t Know”
(-8).
SEEDIF42 indicates whether anyone in the family had difficulty seeing
(with glasses or contacts, if used). This variable was based on two questions, HE28 and HE29.
The initial question (HE28) determined if anyone in the family had difficulty seeing. If the
response was "Yes” (1), a follow-up question (HE29) was asked to determine which
household member(s) had a visual impairment. If the family-level response was “Don
’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or “Not Ascertained” (-9),
all persons were coded with the family-level response. In cases where the family-level
response was “Yes” (1) but no specific individual was identified as having
difficulty seeing, all family members were coded as “Don’t Know” (-8).
Three subsequent questions were asked only of individuals who had
difficulty seeing (i.e., SEEDIF42 was “Yes” (1)). Persons with no visual
impairment were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) for these questions, as were persons
with “Don’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or “Not
Ascertained” (-9) responses to SEEDIF42. The three subsequent questions are summarized
in the three subsequent variables. BLIND42 determined if a person with difficulty seeing was
blind. For persons who were not blind (BLIND42 was “No” (2)), READNW42 asked
whether the person could see well enough to read ordinary newspaper print (with glasses or
contacts, if used); persons who were blind were not asked this question and were coded “
Inapplicable” (-1). For persons who could not read ordinary newspaper print (READNW42
was “No” (2)), RECPEP42 asked if the person could see well enough to recognize
familiar people standing two or three feet away. Persons who were blind or who could read
newsprint were not asked this question and were coded “Inapplicable” (-1).
VISION42 summarizes the pattern of responses to the set of visual
impairment questions. Codes for VISION42 are as follows:
Value |
Definition |
-1 |
All component variables are
“Inapplicable” (SEEDIF42 was -1 and
BLIND42 was -1 and READNW42 was -1 and RECPEP42 was -1) |
-9 |
One or more component
variables was “Refused” (-7), “Don't know”
(-8), or “Not ascertained” (-9) |
1 |
No difficulty seeing
(SEEDIF42 was “No” (2)) |
2 |
Some difficulty seeing, can
read newsprint (SEEDIF42 was “Yes” (1) and BLIND42 was “No” (2) and READNW42
was “Yes” (1)) |
3 |
Some difficulty seeing,
cannot read newsprint, can recognize familiar people (SEEDIF42 was “Yes” (1)
and BLIND42 was “No” (2) and READNW42 was “No” (2) and RECPEP42 was “Yes”
(1)) |
4 |
Some difficulty seeing,
cannot read newsprint, cannot recognize familiar people but is not blind
(SEEDIF42 was “Yes” (1) and BLIND42 was “No” (2) and READNW42 was “No” (2)
and RECPEP42 was “No” (2)) |
5 |
Blind (SEEDIF42 was “Yes” (1)
and BLIND42 was “Yes” (1)) |
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.4 Hearing Problems
A series of questions (HE33 to HE39) provides information on
hearing impairment. These questions were asked of all household members, regardless of age.
Deceased respondents were coded “Inapplicable” (-1).
HEARAD42 indicates whether a person wears a hearing aid. This
variable was based on two questions, HE33 and HE34. The initial question (HE33) determined if
anyone in the family wore a hearing aid. If the response was “Yes”, a follow-up
question (HE34) was asked to determine which household member(s) wore a hearing aid. If the
family-level response was “Don’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or
“Not Ascertained” (-9), 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 wearing a hearing aid, all family members were coded as “Don’t Know” (-8).
HEARDI42 indicates whether a person had difficulty hearing
(with a hearing aid, if used). This variable is based on two questions, HE35 and HE36. The
initial question (HE35) determined if anyone in the family had difficulty hearing. If the
response was “Yes”, a follow-up question (HE36) was asked to determine which
household member had an aural impairment. If the family-level response was “Don’t
Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), 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 using a hearing aid, all
family members were coded as “Don’t Know” (-8).
Three subsequent questions were asked only of individuals who
had difficulty hearing (i.e., HEARDI42 was “Yes” (1)). Persons with no hearing
impairment were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) for these questions, as were persons
with “Don’t Know” (-8), “Refused” (-7), or “Not
Ascertained” (-9) responses to HEARDI42. The three subsequent questions are summarized
in the three subsequent variables. DEAF42 determined if a person with difficulty hearing was
deaf. For persons who were not deaf (DEAF42 was “No” (2)), HEARMO42 asked whether
the person could hear well enough to hear most of the things people say (with a hearing aid,
if used); persons who were deaf were not asked this question and were coded as “
Inapplicable” (-1). For persons who could not hear most things people say (HEARMO42 was
“No” (2)), HEARSM42 asked if the person could hear well enough to hear some of the
things that people say. Persons who were deaf or who could hear most conversation were not
asked this question and were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1).
HEARNG42 summarizes the pattern of responses to the set of
hearing impairment questions. Codes for HEARNG42 are as follows:
Value |
Definition |
-1 |
All component variables are
“Inapplicable” (HEARDI42 was -1 and DEAF42 was -1 and HEARMO42 was -1 and
HEARSM42 was -1) |
-9 |
One or more component
variables was “Refused” (-7), “Don't know”
(-8), or “Not ascertained” (-9) |
1 |
No difficulty hearing
(HEARDI42 was “No” (2)) |
2 |
Some difficulty hearing, can
hear most things people say (HEARDI42 was “Yes” (1) and DEAF42 was “No
” (2) and HEARMO42 was “Yes” (1)) |
3 |
Some difficulty hearing,
cannot hear most things people say, can hear some things people say
(HEARDI42 was “Yes” (1) and DEAF42 was “No” (2) and HEARMO42 was
“No” (2) and HEARSM42 was “Yes” (1)) |
4 |
Some difficulty hearing,
cannot hear most things people say, cannot hear some things people say but
is not deaf (HEARDI42 was “Yes” (1) and DEAF42 was “No” (2)
and HEARMO42 was “No” (2) and HEARSM42 was “No” (2)) |
5 |
Deaf (HEARDI42 was “Yes”
(1) and DEAF42 was “Yes” (1)) |
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.5 Any Limitation Rounds 3, 4, and 5 (Panel 5) / Rounds 1, 2, and 3 (Panel 6)
ANYLIM01 summarizes whether a person has any ADL, IADL, activity,
functional, or sensory limitations in any of the pertinent rounds. This variable was derived
based on data from Rounds 3, 4, and 5 (Panel 5) or Rounds 1, 2, and 3 (Panel 6). ANYLIM01 was
built using the component variables IADLHP31, IADLHP42, IADLHP53, ADLHLP31, ADLHLP42,
ADLHLP53, WLKLIM31, WLKLIM42, WLKLIM53, ACTLIM31, ACTLIM53, SEEDIF42, and HEARDI42. (The
latter two variables, discussed above, indicate any visual or hearing impairment,
respectively.) If any of these components was coded “Yes”, then ANYLIM01 was coded
“Yes” (1). If all components were coded “No”, then ANYLIM01 were coded
“No” (2). If all the components were “Inapplicable” (-1), then
ANYLIM01 was coded as “Inapplicable” (-1). If all the components had missing value
codes (i.e., -7, -8, -9, or –1), then ANYLIM01 was coded as “Not Ascertained
” (-9). If some components were “No” and others had missing value codes,
ANYLIM01 was coded as “Not Ascertained” (-9). The exception to this latter rule
was for children younger than five years old, who were not asked questions that are the basis
for ACTLIM31 or ACTLIM53; for these respondents, if all other components were “No”
, then ANYLIM01 was coded as “No” (2). The variable label for ANYLIM01 departs
slightly from conventions. Typically, variables that end in “01” refer only to
2001. However, some of the variables used to construct ANYLIM01 were assessed in 2002, so some
information from early 2002 is incorporated into this variable.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.6 Child Health and Preventive Care
Starting in 2001, a Child Health and Preventive Care section was added
to Rounds 2 and 4 of MEPS, and it contains questions that had been in the 2000 Parent
Administered Questionnaire, selected children’s questions that had been asked in
previous years, and additional child preventive care questions. Questions were asked about
each child (under the age of 18 excluding deceased children) in the applicable age subgroups
to which they pertained. For the Child Supplement variables, a code of “Inapplicable
” (-1) was assigned if a person was deceased, was not in the appropriate Round 2 or 4,
or was not in the applicable age subgroup as of the interview date. This public use dataset
contains variables and frequency distributions from the Child Health Preventive Care Section
associated with 9,575 children (where LSHLTH42 is not equal to -1). Of these children, 9,235
were assigned a positive person-level weight for 2001 (PERWT01F > 0). Questions in this
section that previously had been in the Parent Administered Questionnaire in 2000 may produce
slightly different estimates in 2001 due to the change in mode from a self-administered
parent questionnaire in 2000 to an interviewer administered questionnaire in 2001.
Children’s General Health Status Questions (ages 0 - 17).
Several questions from the General Health Subscale of the Child Health Questionnaire were
asked about all children ages 0 through 17. The questions asked starting in 2001 are slightly
different from the questions asked in previous years. A key reference for the Child Health
Questionnaire is:
Landgraf JM, Abaetz L., Ware JE. The CHQ User’s Manual. First Edition. Boston, MA: The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, 1996.
Four questions asked for ratings of the child’s health on a
5-point scale, ranging from “Definitely True” (1) to “Definitely False
” (5). These questions were:
LSHLTH42 - child seems less healthy than other children
NEVILL42 - child has never been seriously ill
SICEAS42 - child usually catches whatever is going around
HLTHLF42 - expect child will have a healthy life
WRHLTH42 - worry more than is usual about child’s health
Children with Special Health Care Needs Screener (ages 0 - 17).
The Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Screener instrument was developed
through a national collaborative process as part of the Child and Adolescent Health
Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) under the coordination by the Foundation for Accountability.
A key reference for this screener instrument is:
Bethel CD, Read D, Stein REK, Blumberg SJ, Wells N, Newacheck PW.
Identifying Children with Special Health Care Needs: Development and Evaluation of a Short
Screening Instrument. Ambulatory Pediatrics Volume 2, No. 1, January-February 2002,
pp 38-48.
These questions are asked about children ages 0 –17 and had been
asked in the 2000 PAQ. In general, the CSHCN screener identifies children with activity
limitation or need or use of more health care or other services than is usual for most
children of the same age. When a response to a gate question was set to “No” (2),
“Refused” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained
” (-9), follow-up variables based on the gate question were coded as “
Inapplicable” (-1).
The variable CSHCN42 that identifies children with special health care
needs was created using the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Screener
instrument according to the specifications in the reference above. The CSHCN screener
instrument consists of a series of question-sequences about the following five health
consequences: the need or use of medicines prescribed by a doctor; the need or use of more
medical care, mental health, or education services than is usual for most children; being
limited or prevented in doing things most children can do; the need or use of special therapy
such as physical, occupational, or speech therapy; and the need or use of treatment or
counseling for emotional, developmental, or behavioral problems. Parents who responded
"yes" to any of the "initial" questions in the 5 question sequences were
then asked to respond to up to 2 follow-up questions about whether the health consequence was
attributable to a medical, behavioral, or other health condition lasting or expected to last
at least 12 months. Children with positive responses to at least one of the five health
consequences along with all of the follow-up questions were identified as having a Special
Health Care Need. Children with a "no" response for at least one question for each
of the five question-sequences were considered NOT to have a Special Health Care Need. Those
children whose "special health care need" status could not be determined (due to
missing data for some of the questions) were coded as having the Special Health Care Need
Status missing. More information about the CSHCN screener questions can be
obtained from http://www.markle.org/resources/facct/.
The following variables were created from the questions in the CSHCN Screener:
CHPMED42 - child needs or uses prescribed medicines
CHPMHB42 - prescribed medicines were because of a medical, behavioral, or other health condition
CHPMCN42 - health condition that causes a person to need prescribed medicines has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months
CHSERV42 - child needs or uses more medical care, mental health, or education services than is usual for most children of the same age
CHSRHB42 - child needs or uses more medical and other service because of a medical, behavioral, or other health condition
CHSRCN42 - health condition that causes a person to need or use more medical and other services has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months
CHLIMI42 - child is limited or prevented in any way in ability to do the things most children of the same age can do
CHLIHB42 - child is limited in the ability to do the things most children can do because of a medical, behavioral, or other health condition
CHLICO42 - health condition that causes a person to be limited in the ability to do the things most children can do has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months
CHTHER42 - child needs or gets special therapy such as physical, occupational, or speech therapy
CHTHHB42 - child needs or gets special therapy because of a medical, behavioral, or other health condition
CHTHCO42 - health condition that causes a person to need or get special therapy has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months
CHCOUN42 - child has an emotional, developmental, or behavioral problem for which he or she needs or gets treatment or counseling
CHEMPB42 - problem for which a person needs or gets treatment or counseling is a condition that has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months
CSHCN42 - Identifies children with special health care needs
Columbia Impairment Scale (ages 5 - 17). These questions
inquired about possible child behavioral problems and were asked in previous years.
Respondents were asked to rate on a scale from 0 to 4, where “0” indicates
“No Problem” and “4” indicates “A Very Big Problem”, how
much of a problem the child has with thirteen specified activities. A key reference for the
Columbia Impairment Scale is:
Bird HR, Andrews H, et. al. “Global Measures of Impairment for
Epidemiologic and Clinical Use with Children and Adolsescents.” International
Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, vol. 6, 1996, pp. 295-307.
Certain questions in this series were coded to “Asked, but
Inapplicable” (99) when the question was not applicable for a specific child. For
example, if a child’s mother was deceased, a question about how much of a problem a
child has getting along with his/her mother would be set to “Asked, but Inapplicable
” (99). Similarly, the question about problems getting along with siblings would be set
to “Asked, but Inapplicable” (99) for children with no siblings. Variables in
this set include:
MOMPRO42 - getting along with mother
DADPRO42 - getting along with father
UNHAP42 - feeling unhappy or sad
SCHLBH42 - (his/her) behavior at school
HAVFUN42 - having fun
ADUPRO42 - getting along with adults
NERVAF42 - feeling nervous or afraid
SIBPRO42 - getting along with brothers and sisters
KIDPRO42 - getting along with other kids
SPRPRO42 - getting involved in activities like sports or hobbies
SCHPRO42 - (his/her) schoolwork
HOMEBH42 - (his/her) behavior at home
TRBLE42 - staying out of trouble
CAHPS® (ages 0 - 17). The health care quality measures were
taken from the health plan version of CAHPS®, an AHRQ sponsored family of survey
instruments designed to measure quality of care from the consumer’s perspective and
had been asked in the 2000 PAQ. All of the CAHPS variables refer to events experienced in
the last 12 months. The variables included from the CAHPS® are:
CHRTCR42 - whether any appointments were made to see a doctor or other health provider for regular or routine care
CHRTWW42 - how often a person got an appointment for regular or routine health care as soon as was wanted (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHRTCR42=2, -7, -8, or -9)
CHILCR42 - whether a person had an illness or injury that needed care right away from a doctor’s office, clinic, or emergency room
CHILWW42 - how often a person got care as soon as was wanted for an illness or injury (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when
CHILCR42=2, -7, -8, or -9)
CHAPPT42 - how many times a person went to a doctor’s office or clinic for care
CHNECR42 - how much of a problem it was to get a person the care that the parent or a doctor believed necessary (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHLIST42 - how often a person’s doctors or other health providers listened carefully to the parent (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHEXPL42 - how often a person’s doctors or other health providers explained things in a way the parent could understand (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHRESP42 - how often a person’s doctors or other health providers showed respect for what the parent had to say (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHPRTM42 - how often doctors or other health providers spent enough time with a person and parent (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHHECR42 - rating of health care from 0 to 10 where 0 =Worst health care possible and 10=Best health care possible (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHAPPT42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
CHSPEC42 - whether a person needed to see a specialist
CHPRRE42 - how much of a problem it was to get a referral to a specialist (coded as “-1 Inapplicable” when CHSPEC42=0, -7, -8, or -9)
Child Preventive Care (age range depends on question). A series
of questions was asked about amounts and types of preventive care a child may receive when
going to see a doctor or other health provider. Questions are asked of children of different
age groups depending on the nature of the questions. When a response to a gate question was
set to “No” (2), “Refused” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8),
or “Not Ascertained” (-9), follow-up variables based on the gate question were
coded as “Inapplicable” (-1). Variables in this set include:
MESHGT42 - doctor or other health provider ever measured child’s height (0 – 17)
WHNHGT42 - when doctor or other health provider measured child’s height (0 – 17)
MESWGT42 - doctor or other health provider ever measured child’s weight (0 – 17)
WHNWGT42 - when doctor or other health provider measured child’s weight (0 – 17)
CHBMIX42 - child’s Body Mass Index (BMI) as based on child’s reported height and weight (3 – 17)
MESVIS42 - doctor or other health provider ever checked child’s vision (3 – 6)
MESBPR42 - doctor or other health provider ever checked child’s blood pressure (2 – 17)
WHNBPR42 - when doctor or other health provider checked child’s blood pressure (2 – 17)
DENTAL42 - doctor or other health provider ever advised a dental checkup (2 – 17)
WHNDEN42 - when doctor or other health provider advised a dental checkup (2 – 17)
EATHLT42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about child’s eating healthy (2 – 17)
WHNEAT42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about eating healthy (2 – 17)
PHYSCL42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about the amount and kind of exercise, sports or physically active hobbies the child should have (2 – 17)
WHNPHY42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about exercise (2 – 17)
SAFEST42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about using a safety seat when child rides in the car (weight <= 40 pounds or age 0 - 4 if weight is missing)
WHNSAF42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about using a safety seat (weight <= 40 pounds or age 0 - 4 if weight is missing)
BOOST42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about using a booster seat when child rides in the car (weight between 41 and 80 pounds or age > 4 and age <= 9 if weight is missing)
WHNBST42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about using a booster seat (weight between 41 and 80 pounds or age > 4 and age <= 9 if weight is missing)
LAPBLT42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about using lap and shoulder belts when child rides in the car (weight > 80 pounds or age > 9 if weight is missing)
WHNLAP42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about using lap and shoulder belts (weight > 80 pounds or age > 9 if weight is missing)
HELMET42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about the child’s using a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle
(2 – 17)
WHNHEL42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about the child’s using a helmet when riding a bicycle or motorcycle
(2 – 17)
NOSMOK42 - doctor or other health provider ever given advice about how smoking in the house can be bad for child’s health (0 – 17)
WHNSMK42 - when doctor or other health provider gave advice about how smoking in the house can be bad for the child’s health
(0 – 17)
TIMALN42 - during last health care visit, doctor or other health provider spent any time alone with the child (12 – 17)
Due to confidentiality concerns and restrictions, the variables
HGTFT42, HGTIN42, WGTLB42 and WGTOZ42, which were included on the Full-Year 2000 file, will
not be included on the Full-Year 2001 file. Instead, a Body Mass Index (BMI) variable,
CHBMIX42, was calculated for children 3-17 years old. All children age 2 and under were
given a “-1 Inapplicable” code for the variable CHBMIX42. This variable is
included in the 2001 file and on the above list. Please note: analysts can have access to
the height and weight variables and/or construct a BMI variable of their own through the
MEPS Data Center. To access information on the MEPS Data Center including an application,
please go to the following web address:
http://meps.ahrq.gov
The steps used to calculate the BMI for children are as follows:
- Construct and top-code child height and weight
variables HGTFT42, HGTIN42, WGTLB42 and WGTOZ42 based on collected data
- Create a preliminary data set containing height, weight, sex and age data for
children 3 – 17 years old
- Generate a preliminary child BMI for children 3 –
17 years old using the preliminary data set and the procedure for calculating the BMI for
children as described on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/)
web site
- Create the child BMI variable CHBMIX42 using the
preliminary child BMI, setting all deceased persons and all persons over 17
years old and all persons 2 years old or younger to Inapplicable (-1)
- Top- and bottom-code CHBMIX42 for confidentiality
As indicated in step 1 above, child height and weight were top-coded
prior to the construction of the preliminary data set. The top-code value for child height
for FY 2001 is 6’5”. Cases where child height in feet was greater than 6
(HGTFT42 > 6) and height in inches was missing (HGTIN42 in (-7, -8, -9)) were top-coded
to 6’5”. For cases where height in feet was 6 (HGTFT42 = 6) and height in inches
was missing (HGTIN42 in (-7, -8, -9)), the top-code value for height in inches (5 inches)
was assigned to HGTIN42 for use in the calculation of the child BMI. Where height in feet
was between 1 and 5 and height in inches was missing, the mid-point value for height in
inches (6 inches) was assigned to HGTIN42 for use in the calculation of the child BMI. Where
height in feet was 0 and height in inches was missing, the preliminary child BMI was set to
“Not Ascertained” (-9).
The top-code value for child weight for FY 2001 is 260 pounds. For
cases where weight in pounds was between 0 and 20 and weight in ounces was missing (WGTOZ42
in (-7,-8,-9)), the mid-point value for weight in ounces (8 ounces) was assigned to WGTOZ42
for use in the calculation of the child BMI.
This use of the mid-points for inches and ounces ensures that children
who have feet but not inches in height and/or pounds but not ounces in weight are included
in the BMI calculation.
As indicated in step 2 above, after top-coding child height and
weight, a preliminary SAS data set containing height, weight, sex and age data for children
3 – 17 years old in FY 2001 was created. Two SAS programs were downloaded from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site for the purpose of calculating the BMI
for children (step 3). These programs used the preliminary data set of children to generate
a preliminary child BMI based on the 2000 CDC growth charts (http://www.cdc.gov/). These programs
used the following formula to calculate the preliminary BMI for children:
Weight in Kilograms / [(Height in Centimeters/100)]2
Note that weight in pounds and ounces was converted to weight in
kilograms in the preliminary data set. Similarly, height in feet and inches was converted to
height in centimeters in the preliminary data set.
As indicated in step 4 above, the child BMI variable CHBMIX42 was
calculated using this preliminary BMI from step 3. Deceased persons, persons > 17 years
old, and children younger than 3 years old were set to Inapplicable (-1) for CHBMIX42.
Children 3 – 17 years old with a missing value for height in feet (HGTFT42 is “
Refused” (–7), “Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained
” (-9)) and/or weight in pounds (WGTLB42 is “Refused” (–7), “
Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9)) were set to Not
Ascertained (-9) for CHBMIX42. Children whose height in feet was 0 and height in inches was
missing (HGTIN42 is “Refused” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8), or
“Not Ascertained” (-9)) were set to “Not Ascertained” (-9) for
CHBMIX42. All other children 3 – 17 years old have a calculated BMI for FY 2001.
The top 1% of values for CHBMIX42 for children 3 – 17 years old
(excluding cases where CHBMIX42 is Inapplicable (-1) or Not Ascertained (-9)) were top-coded
at the 1% value (step 5). For FY 2001, this value is 39.2. The bottom 1% of values for
CHBMIX42 for children 3 – 17 years old (excluding cases where CHBMIX42 was Inapplicable
(-1) or Not Ascertained (-9)) were bottom-coded at the 1% value, 10.6.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.7 Preventive Care Variables
For each person, excluding deceased persons, a series of
questions was asked primarily about the receipt of preventive care or screening
examinations. Questions varied in the applicable age or gender subgroups to
which they pertained. The list of variables in this series, along with their
applicable subgroup is as follows:
DENTCK53 - on average, frequency of dental check-up All
ages; both genders
CHOLCK53 - about how long since last blood cholesterol
check by doctor or health professional Age >17; both genders
CHECK53 - how long since last routine check-up by doctor
or other health professional for assessing overall health Age >17; both
genders
FLUSHT53 - how long since last flu shot Age >17; both
genders
LSTETH53 - has person lost all natural (permanent) teeth
Age >17; both genders
PSA53 - how long since last prostate specific antigen (PSA)
test Age >39; males only
HYSTER53 - had a hysterectomy Age >17; females only
PAPSMR53 - how long since last pap smear test Age >17;
females only
BRSTEX53 - how long since last breast exam Age >17;
females only
MAMOGR53 - how long since last mammogram Age >29;
females only
STOOL53 - ever had a blood stool test performed at home
that was provided by doctor or other health professional to determine whether
stool contains blood Age >17; both genders
WHENST53 - when was last time had blood stool test using
home kit Age >17; STOOL53=1 (yes, person had a blood stool test performed at
home that was provided by doctor or other health professional to determine
whether stool contains blood)
BOWEL53 - ever had sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy Age >17;
both genders
WHNBWL53 - when was last sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy
Age >17; BOWEL53=1 (yes, person had sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy)
PHYACT53 - currently spends half hour or more in
moderate to vigorous physical activity at least three times a week Age>17;
both genders
BMINDX53 - Adult Body Mass Index (BMI) as based on
reported height and weight Age > 17; both genders
SEATBE53 - wears seat belt when drives or rides in a car
Age >15; both genders
For each of the variables above, a code of “Inapplicable”
(-1) was assigned if the person was deceased or if the person did not belong to
the applicable subgroups.
Due to confidentiality concerns and restrictions, the
variables HGHTFT53, HGHTIN53, WEIGHT53 and WGTEST53, which were included on the
2000 Full-Year Consolidated Data file, will not be included on the 2001
Full-Year Consolidated Data file. Instead, a Body Mass Index (BMI) variable,
BMINDX53, was calculated for adults 18 years of age or older. This variable is
included in the 2001 file and on the above list. Please note: analysts can have
access to the height and weight variables and/or construct a BMI variable of
their own through the MEPS Data Center. To access information on the MEPS Data
Center including an application, please go to the following web address: http://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/onsite_datacenter.jsp
The following formula used to calculate the BMI for adults
was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/)
web site:
BMI = [Weight in Pounds / (Height in Inches)2 ] * 703
The steps used to calculate the BMI for adults are as
follows:
- Construct and top- and bottom-code code adult height, weight and weight
estimate variables HGHTFT53, HGHTIN53, WEIGHT53 and WGTEST53
- Create the building block variable ADHGTIN, indicating total height in
inches for adults => 18 years old
- Create the temporary variable MIDWGT, indicating the mid-point value of a
person’s estimate of weight (WGTEST53)
- Create the adult BMI variable BMINDX53 using the building block and the
temporary variable, setting all deceased persons and all persons < 18 years
old to Inapplicable (-1)
- Top- and bottom-code code BMINDX53
As indicated in step 1 above, adult height and weight were
top- and bottom-coded prior to the construction of the building block variable
ADHGTIN (total adult height in inches) and the temporary variable MIDWGT
(mid-point value of person’s estimate of weight). The top-code value for adult
height for FY 2001 is 6’8”. The bottom-code value for adult height for FY 2001
is 4’0”. Cases where adult height in feet was greater than 6 (HGHTFT53 > 6) and
height in inches was missing (HGHTIN53 in (-7, -8, -9)) were top-coded to 6’8”.
The top-code value for adult weight for FY 2001 is 400 pounds. The bottom-code
value for adult weight for FY 2001 is 80 pounds. Where estimate of weight was
‘79 pounds or less’ (WGTEST53 = 1), estimate of weight was set to ‘2’ (80 – 99
pounds).
The building block variable ADHGTIN was calculated as
[(HGHTFT53 * 12) + (HGHTIN53)] to indicate total adult height in inches, step 2.
Note that ADHGTIN was created for programming efficiency only and is not
included in this data release. For cases where height in feet was 6 (HGHTFT53 =
6) and height in inches was missing (HGHTIN53 in (-7, -8, -9)), the mid-point
value for height in inches (6 inches) was used in the calculation of total
height in inches [ADHGTIN = (HGHTFT53 * 12) + 6]. This use of the mid-point for
inches ensures that adults who have feet but not inches in height are included
in the BMI calculation. ADHGTIN was set to Not Ascertained (-9) for all cases
where adult height in feet was Refused, Don’t Know, or Not Ascertained (HGHTFT53
in (-7, -8, -9)). Deceased persons and persons whose age was less than 18 years
old were set to Inapplicable (-1) for ADHGTIN.
The temporary variable MIDWGT was
calculated to indicate the mid-point value of person’s estimate of weight
(WGTEST53), step 3. Due to the FY 2001 top-code value for adult weight, the
value 400, rather than a mid-point, was assigned to MIDWGT where estimate of
weight was ‘400 pounds or more’ (WGTEST53 = 18). Note that MIDWGT was created
for programming efficiency only and is not included in this data release.
The adult BMI variable BMINDX53 was calculated (step 4)
using the building block variable ADHGTIN and adult weight in pounds (WEIGHT53)
as follows:
BMINDX53 = [WEIGHT53 / (ADHGTIN)2 ] * 703
For adults whose weight in pounds was Don’t Know (WEIGHT53
= -8) and whose estimate of weight was > 0 (WGTEST53 between 2 and 18), MIDWGT
was used in the calculation of BMINDX53:
BMINDX53 = [MIDWGT / (ADHGTIN)2 ] * 703
BMINDX53 was set to Not Ascertained (-9) for adults whose
weight in pounds was Refused or Not Ascertained (WEIGHT53 in (-7, -9)). BMINDX53
was set to Not Ascertained (-9) for adults whose weight in pounds was Don’t Know
(-8) and whose estimate of weight was Refused, Don’t Know, or Not Ascertained
(WGTEST53 in (-7, -8, -9)). BMINDX53 was set to Not Ascertained (-9) for adults
whose total height in inches was Not Ascertained (ADHGTIN = -9). Deceased
persons and persons whose age was less than 18 years old were set to
Inapplicable (-1) for BMINDX53.
The top 0.5% of values for BMINDX53 (excluding cases where
BMINDX53 was Inapplicable (-1) or Not Ascertained (-9)) were top-coded (step 5)
at the 0.5% value, 49.1. The bottom 0.5% of values for BMINDX53 (excluding cases
where BMINDX53 was Inapplicable (-1) or Not Ascertained (-9)) were bottom-coded
at the 0.5% value, 17.0.
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2.5.10.8 Priority Conditions
For each person, excluding deceased persons, questions
from the supplemental Priority Condition (PC) section were asked about the
existence of select priority conditions. Questions varied in the applicable age
subgroups to which they pertained.
Note that beginning in 2001, a new step has been added to
each of the age-dependent PC variables such that if edited age is within range
for the variable to be set, but the source data are missing because person’s age
in CAPI is not within range, the constructed variable is set to “Not
Ascertained” (-9).
Questions were asked regarding the following conditions:
- Sore Throat – added in calendar year 2001
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease (including coronary heart disease, angina, myocardial infarction)
- Stroke
- Emphysema
- Joint pain
- Arthritis
The codebook and data file sequence lists variables in the
following order:
- Unique person identifiers and survey administration variables
- Geographic variables
- Demographic variables
- Income and tax filing variables
- Employment variables
- Health insurance variables
- Disability days indicators
- Access to care variables
- Health status variables
- Utilization, expenditure and source of payment
variables
- Weight and variance estimation variables
Return To Table Of Contents
These conditions were selected because (1) they are
relatively prevalent and (2) generally accepted standards for appropriate
clinical care have been developed. As part of AHRQ’s focus on the quality of
health care, this series of questions obtained information on the receipt of
tests or procedures appropriate for each condition. This information thus
supplements other information on medical conditions that is gathered in other
parts of the interview.
Editing of these variables focused on checking that skip
patterns were consistent.
Sore Throat. Questions about sore throats were asked only
of persons under age 18. Consequently, persons 18 years of age or older were
coded as "Inapplicable" (-1) on these questions. SRTHRT53 indicates whether each
person had a sore throat serious enough to cause the person to call a doctor or
other health professional during the last 12 months. Those who said "Yes" (1) to
SRTHRT53, were asked whether the person who contacted a doctor or other health
professional in the last 12 months did so primarily due to a sore throat or some
other symptoms (THSYMP53). For those who said "Sore Throat" (1) to THSYMP53, a
follow-up question was asked which indicates whether the person actually saw the
doctor or other health professional for the sore throat (DRTHRT53). THANTB53
indicates whether the doctor or other health provider prescribed antibiotics for
the sore throat. Those who said "Yes" (1) to THANTB53, were asked whether the
person received a throat swab before receiving the antibiotics (THSWAB53). For
those who answered "No" (2), "Refused" (-7), or "Don't Know" (-8), a follow-up
question, THSYMF53, was asked which indicates whether other persons in the
household had similar symptoms around the same time. If THSYMF53 was answered
"Yes" (1), the person was asked whether a doctor or other health professional
gave these family members a throat swab (THSWBF53) and whether a doctor or
health professional prescribed antibiotics for these family members (THANTF53).
Diabetes. DIABDX53 indicates whether each person had ever
been diagnosed with diabetes (excluding gestational diabetes). Each person who
said they had received a diagnosis of diabetes was asked to complete a special
self-administered questionnaire. The documentation for this questionnaire
appears in the Diabetes Care Survey (DCS) section of the documentation.
Asthma. ASTHDX53 indicates whether a respondent had ever
been diagnosed with asthma. Those who said “Yes” were asked additional
questions. ASATAK53 asked whether the person had experienced an episode of
asthma in the past 12 months. ASFLOW53 indicates whether the person with asthma
had a peak flow meter at home. ASMED53 indicates if the person with asthma took
any prescription medications. For those who said “Yes” to ASMED53, a follow-up
question, ASSTER53, indicates if the person used steroid inhalers. Those who
said “No” (2) (or “Refused” (-7) or “Don’t Know” (-8)) to ASTHDX53 were not
asked ASATAK53, ASFLOW53, ASMED53, and ASSTER53; these respondents have been
assigned a code of “Inapplicable” (-1) for these variables.
High Blood Pressure. Questions about high blood pressure
(hypertension) were asked only of respondents aged 18 or older. Consequently,
persons aged 17 or younger were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) on these variables.
HIBPDX53 ascertained whether the person had ever been diagnosed as having high
blood pressure (other than during pregnancy). Those who had received this
diagnosis were also asked if they had been told on two or more different visits
that they had high blood pressure (BPMLDX53).
All respondents older than 17 (regardless of hypertension
diagnosis) were also asked how long it had been since they had their blood
pressure checked by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional (BPCHEK53). If
the response was within the past year or two years, the number of months since
the last blood pressure check was ascertained (BPMONT53). If the response to
BPCHEK53 was longer than 2 years, BPMONT53 was not asked and was coded as
“Inapplicable” (-1).
Heart Disease. The next series of questions concerned
ischemic heart disease. The questions were asked only of respondents aged 18 or
older. Consequently, persons aged 17 or younger were coded as “Inapplicable”
(-1) on all the variables in this set.
CHDDX53 - asked if the person had ever been diagnosed as
having coronary heart disease
ANGIDX53 - asked if the person had ever been
diagnosed as having angina, or angina pectoris
MIDX53 - asked if the person had
ever been diagnosed as having a heart attack, or myocardial infarction
OHRTDX53
- asked if the person had ever been diagnosed with any other kind of heart
disease or condition
STRKDX53 - asked if the person had ever been diagnosed as
having had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA or ministroke)
If a person said “Yes” to any of the five conditions
above, follow-up questions asked if a doctor or other health professional had
ever advised the person to eat fewer high fat or high cholesterol foods
(NOFAT53), and if a doctor had advised the person to exercise more (EXRCIS53). A
third question (ASPRIN53) asked if the person with a heart-related condition
took aspirin frequently. If the person said “No”, or if the response was
“Refused” (-7), “Don’t Know” (-8), or “Not Ascertained” (-9), a follow-up
question asked if the person had a health problem that made taking aspirin
unsafe (NOASPR53). If the answer to NOASPR53 was “Yes” (1), the person was asked
if this problem was stomach-related or something else (STOMCH53).
Those who answered “No” to NOASPR53 were coded as
“Inapplicable” (-1) for STOMCH53. Those who answered “Yes” to ASPRIN53 were
coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) on NOASPR53 and on STOMCH53. Finally, those who had
none of the five heart-related conditions listed above (or who had missing data
for all five of these questions) were coded as “Inapplicable” (-1) for NOFAT53,
EXRCIS53, ASPRIN53, NOASPR53, and STOMCH53.
Emphysema. EMPHDX53 asked if the person (aged 18 or older)
had ever been diagnosed with emphysema.
Joint Pain. JTPAIN53 asked if the person (aged 18 or
older) had experienced pain, swelling, or stiffness around a joint in the last
12 months. This question is not intended to be used as an indicator of a
diagnosis of arthritis.
Arthritis. ARTHDX53 asked if the person (age 18 or older)
had ever been diagnosed with arthritis. If the person said "Yes" (1) to
ARTHDX53, a follow-up question, ARTHTX53, was asked which indicates whether the
person is currently being treated for arthritis.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.9 2001 Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ)
The 2001 Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ), a
paper-and-pencil questionnaire, was fielded during Panel 5 Round 4 and Panel 6
Round 2 of the 2001 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). The SAQ was
designed to collect a variety of health status and health care quality measures
from adults. All adults age 18 and older as of the Round 2 or 4 interview date
(AGE42X>=18) in MEPS households were asked to complete a SAQ. The questionnaires
were administered in late 2001 and early 2002, and were administered in both
English and Spanish. The variable SVERLANG can be used to identify which version
of the questionnaire was administered. The variables created from the SAQ begin
with ‘AD’.
Although respondents were asked to complete the SAQ themselves, some
questionnaires were completed by a proxy. The variable ADPRX42 indicates the
relationship between the person who completed the SAQ and the intended
recipient. If ADPRX42 = 0, the SAQ was self-completed.
For the SAQ variables, a
code of -1 (inapplicable) was assigned if a person was deceased, was not 18
years of age as of the interview date, was not eligible for the SAQ, was not
assigned a positive SAQ weight, or was not in applicable subgroups defined
below. When a gate question answer was = 2 (no), follow-up variables based on
the gate question were coded as -1 (inapplicable). When a gate question answer
was -7 (refused), -8 (don’t know), or -9 (not ascertained), follow-up variable
answers were left as reported.
A special weight variable (SAQWT01F) has been
designed to be used with the SAQ for persons who were age 18 and older at the
interview date. This weight adjusts for SAQ non-response and weights to the US
civilian noninstitutionalized population (see Section 3.0 of the documentation
for details).
Health Care Quality -- CAHPS®
The health care quality measures in
the SAQ were taken from the health plan version of CAHPS, an AHRQ-sponsored
family of survey instruments designed to measure quality of care from the
consumer’s perspective. All of the variables refer to events experienced in the
last 12 months and were asked of adults age 18 and older. The variables included
from the CAHPS are:
| ADRTCR42 |
Any appointment was made to see a doctor or other
health provider for regular or routine health care |
| ADRTWW42 |
If ADRTCR42=1 (yes), how often got an appointment for
regular or routine health care as soon as wanted |
| ADILCR42 |
Had an illness or injury needing care right away from
doctor’s office, clinic or emergency room |
| ADILWW42 |
If ADILCR42=1 (yes), how often got appointment for an
illness or injury as soon as wanted |
| ADAPPT42 |
Number of times went to doctor’s office or clinic to
get care |
| ADNECR42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, how much of a problem it was to get
care you or a doctor believed necessary |
| ADLIST42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, how often health providers listened
carefully to you |
| ADEXPL42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, how often health providers explained
things so you understood A |
| DRESP42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, how often providers showed respect for
what you had to say |
| ADPRTM42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, how often health providers spent
enough time with you |
| ADHECR42 |
If ADAPPT42>0, rating of healthcare from all doctors
and other health providers, from 0 (worst health care possible) to 10 (best
health care possible) |
General Health
| ADDRBP42 |
Blood pressure has been checked by a doctor, nurse,
or other health professional |
| ADSMOK42 |
Currently smoke |
| ADDSMK42 |
If ADSMOK42=1 (yes), doctor advised you to quit
smoking |
| ADSPEC42 |
Needed to see a specialist |
| ADPRRE42 |
If ADSPEC42=1 (yes), how much of a problem it was to
see a specialist |
Health Status
The SAQ contained two measures of health status, the
Short-Form 12 (SF-12 (r), a registered trademark) and the EuroQol 5-D (EQ-5D).
These are two of the more widely used measures of health status. Key references
for these two measures are:
1. Ware, J.E., Kosinski, M., and Keller, S.D. (1996). A
12-item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary tests
of reliability and validity. Medical Care 34:220.
2. Brooks, R. (1996). EuroQol:
The current state of play. Health Policy 37:53-72.
3. Dolan, P. (1997). Modeling
variations for EuroQol health states. Medical Care 35:1095-1108.
Short-Form 12 (SF-12). Version 1 of the SF-12 ® was
used in the 2001 SAQ. (SF-12 ® Health Survey © 1994, 2000 QualityMetric
Incorporated – All rights reserved. SF-12 ® is a registered trademark of the
Medical Outcomes Trust.) The SF-12 questions are as follows:
| ADGENH42 |
General health today |
| ADDAYA42 |
During a typical day, limitations in moderate
activities |
| ADCLIM42 |
During a typical day, limitations in climbing several
flights of stairs |
| ADPACC42 |
During past 4 weeks, as result of physical health,
accomplished less than would like |
| ADPLMT42 |
During past 4 weeks, as result of physical health,
limited in kind of work or other activities |
| ADMACC42 |
During past 4 weeks, as result of mental problems,
accomplished less than you would like |
| ADMLMT42 |
During past 4 weeks, as result of mental problems,
limited in kind of work or other activities |
| ADPAIN42 |
During past 4 weeks, pain interfered with normal work
outside the home and housework |
| ADCALM42 |
During the past 4 weeks, felt calm and peaceful |
| ADPEP42 |
During the past 4 weeks, had a lot of energy |
| ADBLUE42 |
During the past 4 weeks, felt downhearted and blue |
| ADSOCA42 |
During the past 4 weeks, physical health or emotional
problems interfered with social activities |
The variable ADSOCA42 was collected at Q28 in the SAQ
(“During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time has your physical health or
emotional problems interfered with your social activities (like visiting with
friends, relatives, etc.)?”). Note that there was inadvertently a difference in
the response categories between the English and Spanish versions of the
questionnaire for Q28. The Spanish response categories included the category 3
(Good bit of the time). Categories 3 and 4 from the Spanish version of the
questionnaire were combined into category 3 (Some of the time) in the variable
ADSOCA42. The remaining response categories from the Spanish version of the
questionnaire were realigned to match those from the English version in the
variable ADSOCA42.
In analyzing data from the SF-12, the standard approach is
to form two summary scores, based on responses to these questions. The
underlying conception is that overall health is composed of a physical and a
mental component. The Physical Component Summary (PCS) weights more heavily
responses to SF-12 items 2-5 and 8 above. The Mental Component Summary (MCS)
weights more heavily responses to SF-12 items 6,7, 9 and 11 above. The other
items have roughly equal weights for physical and mental components. The
algorithm for computing the PCS and the MCS summary scores is described in the
manual for the SF-12:
Ware, Jr., J.E., Kosinski, M., and Keller, S. How to
Score the SF-12 (r) Physical and Mental Health Summary Scales (Third Edition).
(September 1998). QualityMetric, Inc., Lincoln, RI.
This manual can be purchased from QualityMetric, Inc. (http://www.qualitymetric.com).
This file contains the PCS-12 and MCS-12 summary scores
for the SF-12, computed in accordance with the algorithm outlined in the manual.
The PCS-12 score is PCS42, and the MCS-12 score is MCS42.
The PCS and MCS cannot be computed directly if a person
has missing data for any of the twelve items. QualityMetric has developed a
proprietary method for imputing the PCS and MCS scores if some data are missing. QualityMetric conducted imputations of the PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores for
respondents with missing data on one or more SF-12 items. The variables PCS42
and MCS42 include cases in which the scores were imputed. SFFLAG42 indicates
whether the physical component summary, PCS42, and the mental component, MCS42,
were imputed for a respondent.
EuroQol (EQ-5D)
The EQ-5D contains five questions, asking about the extent
of problems in mobility (ADMOBI42), self-care (ADSELF42), daily activities
(ADACTI42), pain (ADPAYN42), and anxiety/depression (ADDEPR42). Each question
has three possible responses: no problem, mild problem, or severe problem.
| ADMOBI42 |
Problems with mobility |
| ADSELF42 |
Problems with self-care |
| ADACTI42 |
Problems with usual activities |
| ADPAYN42 |
Problems with pain/discomfort |
| ADDEPR42 |
Problems with anxiety/depression |
| ADSCAL42 |
Scale: Rating of your own health today |
The combination of responses to the first five questions
defines a “health state.” Prior research (Dolan, 1997) has developed a method
for assigning a number to each health state that represents an average
preference for one state versus another. The most highly-valued state (perfect
health) has a score of 1.0; death has a score of 0.0; and all other health
states have a score in between, with higher numbers indicating that a state is
valued more highly. (Some health states actually receive a negative number,
indicating that death is preferable to being in that state.) In addition, the
EQ-5D includes a sixth question (ADSCAL42), which asks respondents to rate their
current overall health on a scale that ranges from 0 through 100, where 0 means
“worst possible health” and 100 means “best possible health.” Thus, the EQ-5D
produces two scores: the preference-based index and the rating scale.
Directions for computing the preference-based index from
the five EuroQol items appear in Dolan (1997). The variable EQU42 is the
preference-based index, computed according to the formula in Dolan (1997).
Persons who were ineligible for the SAQ or who did not have a positive weight
have been assigned scores of -1 for this variable; persons who had missing
responses on any of the five component items were assigned scores of -9.
Attitudes about Health
The SAQ included four questions that ascertain certain
health-related attitudes. Two items (ADINSA42 and ADINSB42) deal with attitudes
toward health insurance. The other two questions (ADRISK42 and ADOVER42) deal
with attitudes that might influence decisions to purchase health insurance or to
use health services. These items were used in the 1987 National Medical
Expenditure Survey. No editing has been performed for these items.
| ADINSA42 |
Do not need health insurance |
| ADINSB42 |
Health insurance is not worth the money it costs |
| ADRISK42 |
Am more likely to take risks than the average person |
| ADOVER42 |
Can overcome illness without help from a medically
trained person |
Please note that the weighted frequencies displayed in the
HC-060 codebook for the health status variables collected in the SAQ and DCS (as
designated in the variable labels) are based on the full-year 2001 person weight
PERWT01F. However, when using these variables in analysis, weights specific to
each of these sets of questions should be used (SAQWT01F, DIABW01F). For persons
who are not assigned a positive SAQ weight, the SAQ variables are recoded to
“Inapplicable” (-1). Please see section 3.0. “Survey Sample Information” for
details.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.10.10 Diabetes Care Survey (DCS)
The Diabetes Care Survey (DCS), a self-administered
paper-and-pencil questionnaire, was fielded during Panel 5, Round 5 and Panel 6,
Round 3. Households received a DCS based on their response to DIABDX53 in the
Priority Condition section of the CAPI instrument, which asks whether or not the
respondent was ever told by a doctor or health professional that he/she had
diabetes. The DCS asks the same question with responses summarized in the
variable DSDIA53, and confirms that the respondent has ever been told by a
health professional that he/she had diabetes or sugar diabetes. For a small
number of cases DIABDX53 =YES (1) but DSDIA53 = NO (2). These people do not have
a positive DCS weight. The DCS data are unedited, and, therefore, these and
other data inconsistencies remain in the data. For all persons 17 years of age
or younger, all the DCS variables are set to “Inapplicable” (-1) because there
is not an appropriate weight included on the file to make national estimates for
this population. DSA1C53 and DSCKFT53 indicate the number of times the
respondent reported having a hemoglobin A-one-C test and his/her feet checked
for sores or irritations in 2001, respectively. DSEYE53 indicates the last time
respondents reported having an eye exam. DSKIDN53 and DSEYPR53 ascertain whether
or not the diabetes has caused kidney or eye problems, respectively. DSDIET53,
DSMED53 and DSINSU53 indicate if the respondent reported being treated for
his/her diabetes by the following methods: diet, oral medications or insulin,
respectively. If a respondent was unable to respond to the DCS, the
questionnaire was completed by a proxy (DSPRX53 = 1). A special weight variable
(DIABW01F) has been designed to be used with DCS data. This weight adjusts for
DCS nonresponse and weights to the number of diabetics in the US civilian
noninstitutionalized population in 2001 (see Section C-3.3 for details).
Please note that the weighted frequencies displayed in the
HC-055 codebook for the health status variables collected in the SAQ and DCS (as
designated in the variable labels) are based on the full-year 2001 person weight
PERWT01F. However, when using these variables in analysis, weights specific to
each of these sets of questions should be used (SAQWT01F, DIABW01F). For persons
who are not assigned a positive DCS weight, the DCS variables are recoded to
“Inapplicable” (-1). Please see section “3.0. Survey Sample Information” for
details.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.11 Utilization, Expenditures and Source of Payment Variables (TOTTCH01-RXOSR01)
The MEPS Household Component (HC) collects data in each
round on use and expenditures for office and hospital-based care, home health
care, dental services, vision aids, and prescribed medicines. Data were
collected for each sample person at the event level (e.g., doctor visit,
hospital stay) and summed across rounds 3-5 for Panel 5 (excluding 2000 events
covered in Round 3) and across rounds 1-3 for Panel 6 (excluding 2002 events
covered in Round 3) to produce the annual utilization and expenditure data for
2001. In addition, the MEPS Medical Provider Component (MPC) is a follow-back
survey that collected data from a sample of medical providers and pharmacies
that were used by sample persons in 2000. Expenditure data collected in the MPC
are generally regarded as more accurate than information collected in the HC and
were used to improve the overall quality of MEPS expenditure data in this file
(see below for description of methodology used to develop expenditure data).
This file contains utilization and expenditure variables
for several categories of health care services. In general, there is one
utilization variable (based on HC responses only), 13 expenditure variables
(derived from both HC and MPC responses), and 1 charge variable for each
category of health care service. The utilization variable is typically a count
of the number of medical events reported for the category. The 13 expenditure
variables consist of an aggregate total payments variable, 10 main component
source of payment category variables, and 2 additional source of payment
category variables (see below for description of source of payment categories).
Expenditure variables for all categories of health care combined are also
provided.
The table in Appendix 1 provides an overview of the
utilization and expenditure variables included in this file. For each health
service category, the table lists the corresponding utilization variable(s) and
provides a general key to the expenditure variable names (13 per service
category). The first 3 characters of the expenditure variable names reflect the
service category (except only 2 characters for prescription medicines) while the
subsequent 3 characters (*** in table) reflect the naming convention for the
source of payment categories described below (except only 2 characters for
Veterans Administration). The last 2 positions of all utilization and
expenditure variable names reflect the survey year (i.e., 01). More details are
provided on the utilization and expenditure variables in sections 2.5.11.1 and
2.5.11.2 below.
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2.5.11.1 Expenditures Definition
Expenditures on this file refer to what is paid for health
care services. More specifically, expenditures in MEPS are defined as the sum of
direct payments for care provided during the year, including out-of-pocket
payments and payments by private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and other
sources. Payments for over the counter drugs and for alternative care services
are not included in MEPS total expenditures. Indirect payments not related to
specific medical events, such as Medicaid Disproportionate Share and Medicare
Direct Medical Education subsidies, are also not included.
The definition of expenditures used in MEPS is somewhat
different from the 1987 NMES and 1987 NMCES surveys where charges rather than
sum of payments were used to measure expenditures. This change was adopted
because charges became a less appropriate proxy for medical expenditures during
the 1990’s due to the increasingly common practice of discounting charges.
Another change from the two prior surveys is that charges associated with
uncollected liability, bad debt, and charitable care (unless provided by a
public clinic or hospital) are not counted as expenditures because there are no
payments associated with those classifications.
While the concept of expenditures in MEPS has been
operationalized as payments for health care services, variables reflecting
charges for services received are also provided on the file (see below).
Analysts should use caution when working with the charge variables because they
do not typically represent actual dollars exchanged for services or the resource
costs of those services.
Data Sources on Expenditures
The expenditure data included on this file were derived
from the MEPS Household and Medical Provider Components. Only HC data were
collected for nonphysician visits, dental and vision services, other medical
equipment and services, and home health care not provided by an agency while
data on expenditures for care provided by home health agencies were only
collected in the MPC. In addition to HC data, MPC data were collected for some
office-based visits to physicians (or medical providers supervised by
physicians), hospital-based events (e.g., inpatient stays, emergency room
visits, and outpatient department visits), and prescribed medicines. For these
types of events, MPC data were used if complete; otherwise HC data were used if
complete. Missing data for events where HC data were not complete and MPC data
were not collected or complete were derived through an imputation process (see
below).
A series of logical edits were applied to both the HC and
MPC data to correct for several problems including, but not limited to,
outliers, copayments or charges reported as total payments, and reimbursed
amounts that were reported as out of pocket payments. In addition, edits were
implemented to correct for misclassifications between Medicare and Medicaid and
between Medicare HMO’s and private HMO’s as payment sources. Data were not
edited to insure complete consistency between the health insurance and source of
payment variables on the file.
Imputation for Missing Expenditures and Data
Adjustments
Expenditure data were imputed to 1) replace missing data,
2) provide estimates for care delivered under capitated reimbursement
arrangements, and 3) to adjust household reported insurance payments because
respondents were often unaware that their insurer paid a discounted amount to
the provider. This section contains a general description of the approaches used
for these three situations. A more detailed description of the editing and
imputation procedures is provided in the documentation for the MEPS event level
files.
Missing data on expenditures were imputed using a weighted
sequential hot-deck procedure for most medical visits and services. In general,
this procedure imputes data from events with complete information to events with
missing information but similar characteristics. For each event type, selected
predictor variables with known values (e.g., total charge, demographic
characteristics, region, provider type, and characteristics of the event of
care, such as whether it involved surgery) were used to form groups of donor
events with known data on expenditures, as well as identical groups of recipient
events with missing data. Within such groups, data were assigned from donors to
recipients, taking into account the weights associated with the MEPS complex
survey design. Only MPC data were used as donors for hospital-based events while
data from both the HC and MPC were used as donors for office-based physician
visits. The general approach that was used to impute missing expenditure data on
prescribed medicines is described in section 2.5.11.2 below.
Because payments for medical care provided under capitated
reimbursement arrangements and through public clinics and Veterans’ Hospitals
are not tied to particular medical events, expenditures for events covered under
those types of arrangements and settings were also imputed. Events covered under
capitated arrangements were imputed from events covered under managed care
arrangements that were paid based on a discounted fee-for-service method, while
imputations for visits to public clinics and Veterans’ Hospitals were based on
similar events that were paid on a fee-for-service basis. As for other events,
selected predictor variables were used to form groups of donor and recipient
events for the imputations.
An adjustment was also applied to some HC reported
expenditure data because an evaluation of matched HC/MPC data showed that
respondents who reported that charges and payments were equal were often unaware
that insurance payments for the care had been based on a discounted charge. To
compensate for this systematic reporting error, a weighted sequential hot-deck
imputation procedure was implemented to determine an adjustment factor for HC
reported insurance payments when charges and payments were reported to be equal.
As for the other imputations, selected predictor variables were used to form
groups of donor and recipient events for the imputation process.
Methodology for Flat Fee Expenditures
Most of the expenditures for medical care reported by MEPS
participants are associated with single medical events. However, in some
situations there is one charge that covers multiple contacts between a medical
provider and patient (e.g. obstetrician services, orthodontia). In these
situations (generally called flat or global fees), total payments for the flat
or global fee were included if the initial service was provided in 2001. For
example, all payments for an orthodontist’s fee that covered multiple visits
over three years were included if the initial visit occurred in 2001. However,
if a visit in 2001 to an orthodontist was part of a flat fee in which the
initial visit occurred in 1999, then none of the payments for the flat fee were
included.
The approach used to count expenditures for flat fees may
create what appear to be inconsistencies between utilization and expenditure
variables. For example, if several visits under a flat fee arrangement occurred
in 2001 but the first visit occurred in 1999, then none of the expenditures were
included, resulting in low expenditures relative to utilization for that person.
Conversely, the flat fee methodology may result in high expenditures for some
persons relative to their utilization. For example, all of the expenditures for
an expensive flat fee were included even if only the first visit covered by the
fee had occurred in 2001. On average, the methodology used for flat fees should
result in a balance between overestimation and underestimation of expenditures
in a particular year.
Zero Expenditures
There are some medical events reported by respondents
where the payments were zero. This could occur for several reasons including (1)
free care was provided, (2) bad debt was incurred, (3) care was covered under a
flat fee arrangement beginning in an earlier year, or (4) follow-up visits were
provided without a separate charge (e.g. after a surgical procedure). In
summary, these types of events have no impact on the person level expenditure
variables contained in this file.
Source of Payment Categories
In addition to total expenditures, variables are provided
which itemize expenditures according to the major source of payment categories.
These categories are:
- Out of pocket by user or family (SLF);
- Medicare (MCR);
- Medicaid (MCD);
- Private Insurance (PRV);
- Veterans’ Administration, excluding CHAMPVA (VA);
- Tricare (TRI);
- Other Federal Sources--includes Indian Health Service,
Military Treatment Facilities, and other care provided by the Federal
government (OFD);
- Other State and Local Source--includes community and
neighborhood clinics, State and local health departments, and State programs
other than Medicaid (STL);
- Worker’s Compensation (WCP);
- Other Unclassified Sources--includes sources such as
automobile, homeowner’s, liability, and other miscellaneous or unknown sources
(OSR).
Two additional source of payment variables were created to
classify payments for particular persons that appear inconsistent due to
differences between the survey questions on health insurance coverage and
sources of payment for medical events. These variables include:
- Other Private (OPR) - any type of private insurance
payments reported for persons not reported to have any private health insurance
coverage during the year as defined in MEPS (i.e. for hospital and physician
services); and
- Other Public (OPU) - Medicaid payments reported for
persons who were not reported to be enrolled in the Medicaid program at any time
during the year.
Though relatively small in magnitude, users should
exercise caution when interpreting the expenditures associated with the OPR and
OPU categories. While these payments stem from apparent inconsistent responses
to the health insurance and source of payment questions in the survey, some of
these inconsistencies may have logical explanations. For example, private
insurance coverage in MEPS is defined as having a major medical plan covering
hospital and physician services. If a MEPS sample person did not have such
coverage but had a single service type insurance plan (e.g. dental insurance)
that paid for a particular episode of care, those payments may be classified as
“other private”. Some of the “other public” payments may stem from confusion
between Medicaid and other state and local programs or may be for persons who
were not enrolled in Medicaid, but were presumed eligible by a provider who
ultimately received payments from the program.
Please note, unlike the other events, the prescribed
medicine events do have some remaining inconsistent responses between the
insurance section of the HC and sources of payment from the PC (more
specifically, discrepancies between Medicare only Household insurance responses
and Medicaid sources of payment provided by pharmacy providers). These
inconsistencies remain unedited because there was strong evidence from the PC
that these were indeed Medicaid payments. All of these types of HC events were
exact matches to events in the PC, and in addition, all of these types of events
were purchases by persons with positive weights.
The naming conventions used for the source of payment
expenditure variables are shown in parentheses in the list of categories above
and in the key to the attached table in Appendix 1. In addition, total
expenditure variables (EXP in key) based on the sum of the 12 source of payment
variables above are provided.
Charge Variables
In addition to the expenditure variables described above,
a variable reflecting total charges is provided for each type of service
category (except prescribed medicines). This variable represents the sum of all
fully established charges for care received and usually does not reflect actual
payments made for services, which can be substantially lower due to factors such
as negotiated discounts, bad debt, and free care (see above). The naming
convention used for the charge variables (TCH) is also included in the key to
the attached table in Appendix 1. The total charge variable across services
(TOTTCH01) excludes prescribed medicines.
Return To Table Of Contents
2.5.11.2 Utilization and Expenditure Variables by Type of Medical Service
The following sections summarize definitional, conceptual
and analytic considerations when using the utilization and expenditure variables
in this file. Separate discussions are provided for each MEPS medical service
category.
Medical Provider Visits (i.e., Office-Based Visits)
Medical provider visits consist of encounters that took
place primarily in office-based settings and clinics. Care provided in other
settings such as a hospital, nursing home, or a person’s home are not included
in this category.
The total number of office based visits reported for 2001
(OBTOTV01) as well as the number of such visits to physicians (OBDRV01) and
nonphysician providers (OBOTHV01) are contained in this file. For a small
proportion of sample persons, the sum of the physician and nonphysician visit
variables (OBDRV01+OBOTHV01) is less than the total number of office-based
visits variable (OBTOTV01) because OBTOTV01 contains reported visits where the
respondent did not know the type of provider.
Non-physician visits (OBOTHV01) include visits to the
following types of providers: chiropractors, midwives, nurses and nurse
practitioners, optometrists, podiatrists, physician’s assistants, physical
therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, technicians,
receptionists/clerks/secretaries, or other medical providers. Separate
utilization variables are included for selected types of more commonly seen
non-physician providers including chiropractors (OBCHIR01), nurses/nurse
practitioners (OBNURS01), optometrists (OBOPTO01), physician assistants
(OBASST01), and physical or occupational therapists (OBTHER01).
Expenditure variables associated with all medical
provider visits, physician visits, and non-physician visits in office-based
settings can
be identified using the attached table in Appendix 1. As for the corresponding
utilization variables, the sum of the physician and non-physician visit
expenditure variables (e.g. OBDEXP01+OBOEXP01) is less than the total
office-based expenditure variable (OBVEXP01) for a small proportion
of sample
persons. This can occur because OBVEXP01 includes visits where the respondent
did not know the type of provider seen.
Hospital Events
Separate utilization variables for hospital care are
provided for each type of setting (inpatient, outpatient department, and
emergency room) along with two expense variables per setting; one for basic
hospital facility expenses and another for payments to physicians who billed
separately for services provided at the hospital. These payments are referred to
as “separately billing doctor” or SBD expenses.
Hospital facility expenses include all expenses for direct
hospital care, including room and board, diagnostic and laboratory work, x-rays,
and similar charges, as well as any physician services included in the hospital
charge. Separately billing doctor (SBD) expenses typically cover services
provided to patients in hospital settings by providers like radiologists,
anesthesiologists, and pathologists, whose charges are often not included in
hospital bills.
Hospital Outpatient Visits
Variables for the total number of reported visits to
hospital outpatient departments in 2001 (OPTOTV01) as well as the number of
outpatient department visits to physicians (OPDRV01) and non-physician providers
(OPOTHV01) are contained in this file. For a small proportion of sample persons,
the sum of the physician and non-physician visit variables (OPDRV01+OPOTHV01) is
less than the total number of outpatient visits variable (OPTOTV01) because
OPTOTV01 contains reported visits where the respondent did not provide
information on the type of provider seen.
Expenditure variables (both facility and SBD) associated
with all medical provider visits, physician visits, and non-physician visits in
outpatient departments can be identified using the attached table in Appendix 1.
As for the corresponding utilization variables, the sum of the physician and
non-physician expenditure variables (e.g., OPVEXP01+OPOEXP01 for facility
expenses) is less than the variable for total outpatient department expenditures
(OPFEXP01) for a small proportion of sample persons. This can occur because
OPFEXP01 includes visits where the respondent did not know the type of provider
seen. No expenditure variables are provided for health care consultations that
occurred over the telephone.
Hospital Emergency Room Visits
The variable ERTOT01 represents a count of all emergency
room visits reported for the survey year. Expenditure variables associated with
ERTOT01 are identified in the attached table in Appendix 1. It should be noted
that hospitals usually include expenses associated with emergency room visits
that immediately result in an inpatient stay with the charges and payments for
the inpatient stay. Therefore, to avoid the potential for double counting when
imputing missing expenses, separately reported facility expenditures for
emergency room visits that were identified in the MPC as directly linked to an
inpatient stay were included as part of the inpatient stay only (see below).
This strategy to avoid double counting resulted in $0 facility expenditures for
these emergency room visits. However, these $0 emergency room visits are still
counted as separate visits in the utilization variable ERTOT01.
Hospital Inpatient Stays
Two measures of total inpatient utilization are provided
on the file: (1) total number of hospital discharges (IPDIS01) and (2) the total
number of nights associated with these discharges (IPNGTD01). Please note that
the variable IPNGTD01 is an imputed version of the IPNGT01 variable released
earlier on HC-055. For the 61 cases that were missing length of stay
information, data were imputed using a weighted sequential hot-deck procedure.
IPDIS01 includes hospital stays where the dates of admission and discharge were
reported as identical. These “zero night stays” can be included or excluded from
inpatient analyses at the user’s discretion (see last paragraph of this
section).
Expenditure variables associated with hospital inpatient
stays are identified in the attached table in Appendix 1. To the extent
possible, payments associated with emergency room visits that immediately
preceded an inpatient stay are included with the inpatient expenditures (see
above) and payments associated with healthy newborns are included with
expenditures for the mother (see next paragraph for more detail).
Data used to construct the inpatient utilization and
expenditure variables for newborns were edited to exclude stays where the
newborn left the hospital on the same day as the mother. This edit was applied
because discharges for infants without complications after birth were not
consistently reported in the survey and charges for newborns without
complications are typically included in the mother’s hospital bill. However, if
the newborn was discharged at a later date than the mother was discharged, then
the discharge was considered a separate stay for the newborn when constructing
the utilization and expenditure variables.
Some analysts may prefer to exclude zero night stays from
inpatient analyses and/or count these stays as ambulatory visits. Therefore, a
separate use variable is provided which contains a count of the number of
inpatient events where the reported dates of admission and discharge were the
same (IPZERO01). This variable can be subtracted from IPDIS01 to exclude zero
night stays from inpatient utilization estimates. In addition, separate
expenditure variables are provided for zero night facility expenses (ZIFEXP01)
and for separately billing doctor expenses (ZIDEXP01). Analysts who choose to
exclude zero-night stays from inpatient expenditure analyses need to subtract
the zero-night expenditure variable from the corresponding expenditure variable
for total inpatient stays (e.g. IPFEXP01-ZIFEXP01 for facility expenses,
IPDEXP01-ZIDEXP01 for separately billing doctor expenses).
Dental Visits
The total number of dental visits variable (DVTOT01)
includes those to any person(s) for dental care including general dentists,
dental hygienists, dental technicians, dental surgeons, orthodontists,
endodontists, and periodontists. Additional variables are provided for the
numbers of dental visits to general dentists (DVGEN01) and to orthodontists
(DVORTH01). For a small proportion of sample persons, the sum of the general
dentist and orthodontist visit variables (DVGEN01+DVORTH01) is greater than the
total number of dental visits (DVTOT01). This result can only occur for persons
who were reported to have seen both a general dentist and orthodontist in the
same visit(s). When this occurred, expenditures for the visit were included as
orthodontist expenses but not as general dentist expenses. Expenditure variables
for all three categories of dental providers can be identified using the
attached table in Appendix 1.
Home Health Care
In contrast to other types of medical events where data
were collected on a per visit basis, information on home health care utilization
is collected in MEPS on a per month basis. Variables are provided which indicate
the total number of days in 2001 where home health care was received by the
following: from any type of paid or unpaid caregiver (HHTOTD01), from agencies,
hospitals, or nursing homes (HHAGD01), from self-employed persons (HHINDD01),
and from unpaid informal caregivers not living with the sample person
(HHINFD01). The number of provider days represents the sum across months of the
number of days on which home health care was received, with days summed across
all providers seen. For example, if a person received care in one month from one
provider on 2 different days, then the number of provider days would equal 2.
The number of provider days would also equal 2 if a person received care from 2
different providers on the same day. However, if a person received care from 1
provider 2 times in the same day, then the provider days would equal 1. These
variables were assigned missing values if the number of provider days could not
be computed for any month in which the specific type of home health care was
received.
Separate expenditure variables are provided for
agency-sponsored home health care (includes care provided by home health
agencies, hospitals, and nursing homes) and care provided by self-employed
persons. The attached table in Appendix 1 identifies the home health care
utilization and expenditure variables contained in the file.
Vision Aids
Expenditure variables for the purchase of glasses and/or
contact lenses are identified in the attached table in Appendix 1. Due to the
data collection methodology, it was not possible to determine whether vision
items that were reported in round 3 had been purchased in 1999 or 2001.
Therefore, expenses reported in round 3 were only included if more than half of
the person’s reference period for the round was in 2001.
Other Medical Equipment and Services
This category includes expenditures for ambulance
services, orthopedic items, hearing devices, prostheses, bathroom aids, medical
equipment, disposable supplies, alterations/modifications, and other
miscellaneous items or services that were obtained, purchased or rented during
the year. On this file diabetic supplies and insulin are not considered to be
medical equipment. All use and expenditure information for these items are
included in the prescribed medicine variables. Respondents were only asked once
(in round 3) about their total annual expenditures and were not asked about
their frequency of use of these services. Expenditure variables representing the
combined expenses for these supplies and services are identified in the Appendix
1 table.
Prescribed Medicines
There is one total utilization variable (RXTOT01) and 13
expenditure variables included on the 2001 full-year file relating to prescribed
medicines. These 13 expenditure variables include an annual total expenditure
variable (RXEXP01) and 12 corresponding annual source of payment variables
(RXSLF01, RXMCR01, RXMCD01, RXPRV01, RXVA01, RXTRI01, RXOFD01, RXSTL01, RXWCP01,
RXOSR01, RXOPR01, and RXOPU01). The total utilization variable is a count of all
prescribed medications initially purchased during 2001, as well as any
additional acquisitions of the medication. The total expenditure variable sums
all amounts paid out-of-pocket and by third party payers for each prescription
purchased in 2001. No variables reflecting charges for prescription medicines
are included because a large proportion of respondents to the pharmacy component
survey did not provide charge data (see below).
Prescribed Medicines Data Collected
Data regarding prescription drugs were obtained through
the household questionnaire and a pharmacy component survey. During each round
of the MEPS HC, all respondents were asked to supply the name of any prescribed
medication they or their family members purchased or otherwise obtained during
that round. For each medication and in each round, the following information was
collected: whether any free samples of the medication were received; the name(s)
of any health problems the medication was prescribed for; the number of times
the prescription drug was obtained or purchased; the year, month, and day on
which the person first used the medication; and a list of the names, addresses,
and types of pharmacies that filled the household’s prescriptions. Also, during
the Household Component, respondents were asked if they send in claim forms for
their prescriptions (self-filers) or if their pharmacy providers do this
automatically for them at the point of purchase (non-self-filers). For
non-self-filers, charge and payment information was collected in the pharmacy
component survey, unless the purchase was an insulin or diabetic
supply/equipment event. However, charge and payment information was collected
for self-filers in the household questionnaire, because payments by private
third party payers for self-filers’ purchases would not be available from the
pharmacy component. Uninsured persons were treated as those whose pharmacies
filed their prescription claims at the point of purchase. Persons who said they
did not know if they sent in their own prescription claim forms were treated as
those who did send in their own prescription claim forms.
Pharmacy providers identified by the household were
contacted by telephone for the pharmacy component if permission was obtained in
writing from the person with the prescription to release their pharmacy records.
The signed permission forms were provided to the various establishments prior to
making any requests for information. Each establishment was informed of all
persons participating in the survey that had prescriptions filled there in 2001
and a computerized printout containing information about these prescriptions was
sought. For each medication listed, the following information was requested:
date filled; national drug code (NDC); medication name; strength of medicine
(amount and unit); quantity (package size and amount dispensed); total charge;
and payments by source.
When diabetic supplies, such as syringes and insulin, were
reported in the other medical supply section of the MEPS HC questionnaire as
having been obtained during the round, the interviewer was directed to collect
information on these items in the prescription drug section of MEPS. Charge and
payment information was asked for these events.
Prescribed Medicines Data Editing and Imputation
The general approach to preparing the household
prescription data for this file was to utilize the pharmacy component
prescription data to assign expenditure values to the household drug mentions.
For events that charge and payment data were collected from the household in the
HC, information on payment sources was retained to the extent that these data
were reported. A matching program was adopted to link pharmacy component drugs
and the corresponding drug information to household drug mentions. To improve
the quality of these matches, all drugs on the household and pharmacy files were
coded based on the medication names provided by the household and pharmacy, and
when available, the national drug code (NDC) provided in the pharmacy survey.
Considerable editing was done prior to the matching to correct data
inconsistencies in both data sets and fill in missing data and correct outliers
on the pharmacy file.
Drug price per unit outliers were analyzed on the pharmacy
file by first identifying the average wholesale unit price (AWUP) of the drug by
linkage through the NDC to a proprietary data base. In general, prescription
drug unit prices were deemed to be outliers by comparing unit prices reported in
the pharmacy data base to the AWUP and were edited, as necessary.
For those rounds that spanned two years, drugs mentioned
in that round were allocated between the years based on the number of times the
respondent said the drug was purchased in the respective year, the year the
person started taking the drug, the length of the person’s round, the dates of
the person’s round, and the number of drugs for that person in the round. In
addition, a “folded” version of the PC on an event level, as opposed to an
acquisition level, was used for these types of events to assist in determining
how many acquisitions of the drug should be allocated between the years.
Return To Table Of Contents
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, noninstitutionalized population
of the United States and some subpopulations of interest. The data in this
public use set pertain to calendar year 2001. The data were collected in Rounds
1, 2, and 3 for MEPS Panel 6 and Rounds 3, 4, and 5 for MEPS Panel 5. (Note that
Round 3 for a MEPS panel is designed to overlap two calendar years.) Variables
convey the same information for this full year file that has been provided for
the full year files associated with years 1996 – 2000 of MEPS. The only
utilization data that appear on the file are those associated with health care
events occurring in calendar year 2001. All such utilization data for 2001
reported by MEPS respondents regardless of round and panel have been included in
this database.
301 Moved Permanently
301 Moved Permanently
References
There have been some published reports on the MEPS sample
design.For detailed information on the MEPS sample design for Panel 1, see
Cohen, S. Sample Design of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household
Component. Rockville (MD): Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; 1997.
MEPS Methodology Report, No. 2. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0027. For detailed information
on the MEPS sample design for Panel 2, see Cohen, S., Sample Design of the 1997
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component. Rockville (MD): Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality; 2000. MEPS Methodology Report, No. 11. AHRQ Pub
No. 01-0001.
MEPS-Linked to the National Health Interview Survey
The households in this 2001 MEPS database are related to
households participating in the National Health Interview Survey in 1999 and
2000. The households (occupied DUs) selected for MEPS Panel 5 were a subsample
of the 1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) responding households while
those in MEPS Panel 6 were a subsample of 2000 NHIS respondents. A household may
contain one or more family units, each consisting of one or more individuals.
Analysis can be undertaken using either the individual or the family as the unit
of analysis.
There were 5,380 households (occupied DUs) selected for
inclusion in MEPS Panel 5, of which 5,357 were eligible for fielding (college
dormitories were eliminated). They were selected as a nationally representative
subsample of the households responding to the 1999 NHIS. A subsample of 10,704
households was selected for MEPS Panel 6 from among households responding to the
2000 NHIS, of which 10,651 were fielded after the elimination of college dorms.
The NHIS sample design is multi-stage and rather
complicated. A brief and simplified description of the NHIS design follows. The
first stage of sample selection is an area sample of PSUs, where PSUs generally
consist of one or more counties. Within PSUs, density strata are formed,
generally reflecting the density of minority populations for single or groups of
blocks or block equivalents that are assigned to the strata. Within each such
density stratum "supersegments" are formed, consisting of clusters of housing
units. Samples of supersegments are selected for use over a 10-year data
collection period for the NHIS. Households within supersegments are selected for
each calendar year the NHIS is carried out. Households containing Hispanics and
blacks are oversampled at rates of approximately 2 and 1.5 times, respectively,
the rate of remaining households. These same rates of oversampling are reflected
in the MEPS sample of households. The only major difference in eligibility
status for housing units between NHIS and MEPS is that college dorms represent
ineligible housing units for MEPS. College aged students living away from home
during the school year were interviewed at their place of residence for the NHIS
but were identified by and linked to their parents’ household for MEPS. (There
is also a person-level stage of sampling for the NHIS but that does not have a
direct impact on the MEPS sample design.)
Sample Weights and Variance Estimation
In the database “MEPS HC-060: 2001 Full Year Consolidated
Data File,” weight variables are provided for estimation purposes. The weight
variables (PERWT01F, FAMWT01F, SAQWT01F and DIABW01F) provided in this file
supercede the weight variables provided in the 2001 Full Year Population
Characteristics File (HC-055). Procedures and considerations associated with the
construction and interpretation of person and family-level estimates using these
and other variables are discussed below.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.1.1 The MEPS Sampling Process and Response Rates: An Overview
Generally, about three-eighths of the NHIS responding
households are made available for use in MEPS. A subsample of these households
is then drawn for MEPS interviewing. Because the MEPS subsampling has to be done
very soon after NHIS responding households are identified, a small percentage of
the NHIS households initially characterized as NHIS respondents are later
classified as nonrespondents for the purposes of NHIS data analysis. This
actually serves to increase the overall MEPS response rate slightly since the
percentage of NHIS households eligible for MEPS is slightly larger than the NHIS
household-level response rate and some NHIS nonresponding households do
participate in MEPS. However, as a result, for these NHIS nonrespondents there
are no NHIS data available to incorporate into analyses with MEPS data.
Once the MEPS sample is selected from among the NHIS
households characterized as NHIS respondents, RUs representing students living
in student housing or consisting entirely of military personnel are dropped from
the sample. For the NHIS, college students living in student housing are sampled
independently from their families. For MEPS, such students are identified
through the sample selection of their parents' RU. Removing from MEPS those
college students found in college housing sampled for the NHIS eliminates the
opportunity of multiple chances of selection for MEPS for these students.
Military personnel not living in the same RU as civilians are ineligible for
MEPS. After such exclusions, all RUs associated with households selected from
among those identified as NHIS responding households are then fielded in the
first round of MEPS.
Table 3.1 shows these three informational components just
discussed in Rows A, B, and C. Row A indicates the percentage of NHIS households
eligible for MEPS. Row B indicates the number of NHIS households sampled for
MEPS. Row C indicates the number of sampled households actually fielded for MEPS
(after dropping the students and military members discussed above).
Table 3.1 Response rates for Full Year file (Panel 6 Rounds 1-3/Panel 5, Rounds 3-5)
|
|
Panel 6 |
Panel 5 |
2001
Combined |
A. |
Percentage of NHIS sample eligible for MEPS |
89.88% |
92.16% |
|
B. |
Number of households sampled from the NHIS |
10,704 |
5,380 |
|
C. |
Number of Households
sampled from the NHIS and fielded for MEPS |
10,651 |
5,357 |
|
D. |
Round 1 – Number of RUs
eligible for interviewing |
11,556 |
5,750 |
|
E. |
Round 1 – Number of RUs
with completed interviews |
9,377 |
4,670 |
|
F. |
Round 2 – Number of RUs
eligible for interviewing |
9,666 |
4,774 |
|
G. |
Round 2 – Number of RUs
with completed interviews |
9,222 |
4,510 |
|
H. |
Round 3 – Number of RUs
eligible for interviewing |
9,380 |
4,597 |
|
I. |
Round 3 – Number of RUs
with completed interviews |
9,001 |
4,437 |
|
J. |
Round 4 – Number of RUs
eligible for interviewing |
|
4,522 |
|
K. |
Round 4 – Number of RUs
with completed interviews |
|
4,396 |
|
L. |
Round 5 – Number of RUs
eligible for interviewing |
|
4,420 |
|
M. |
Round 5 – Number of RUs
with completed interviews |
|
4,357 |
|
|
Overall response rates
through the Spring of 2002 |
|
|
|
P6: A x (E/D) x (G/F) x
(I/H)
P5: A x (E/D) x (G/F) x
(I/H) x (K/J) x (M/L) |
66.8%
(Panel 6
through Round 3) |
65.4%
(Panel 5
through Round 5) |
|
Combined: (2/3) x P6 +
(1/3) x P5 |
|
|
66.3% |
Response Rates
In order to produce annual health care
estimates for calendar year 2001 based on the full MEPS sample, data are pooled
across the fifth and sixth MEPS national samples. More specifically, full
calendar year 2001 data collected in Rounds 3 through 5 for the MEPS Panel 5
sample are pooled with data from the first three rounds of data collection for
the MEPS Panel 6 sample (the general approach is illustrated below). Overall,
the full 2001 MEPS sample consists of 12,852 participating RUs (where student
RUs are linked to parent RUs for this count). There are 32,122 responding
individuals that completed the full series of MEPS interviews for their entire
period of eligibility, providing the necessary information to produce national
use estimates for calendar year 2001. (Note that some of the 32,122 responding
individuals belong to nonresponding families, since a family is deemed to have
responded to MEPS only if all of its key, inscope members over the course of the
year responded to the MEPS. For example, if a parent RU responded to MEPS but an
associated student RU, such as a son away at college, failed to respond in any
round of data collection, the family would be considered nonrespondent for this
full year database. However, all key, inscope members of the parent RU would
receive person-level weights. Specifically, there were 732 persons with a person
weight but no family weight.)
When an RU is visited for a round of data
collection, changes in RU membership are identified. Such changes include RU
members who have moved to another location in the U.S., thus creating a new RU
to be interviewed for MEPS, as well as student RUs. Thus, the number of RUs
eligible for MEPS interviewing in a given round can only be determined after
data collection is fully completed. The ratio of the number of RUs completing
the MEPS interview in a given round to the number of RUs characterized as
eligible to complete the interview for that round represents the "conditional"
response rate for that round. It is "conditional" in that it pertains to the set
of RUs characterized as eligible for MEPS for that round, and thus is
"conditioned" on prior participation rather than representing the overall
response rate through that round. For example, in Table 3.1, for Panel 5, Round
2 the ratio of 4,510 (Row G) to 4,774 (Row F) multiplied by 100 represents the
percentage response rate for the round (94.5 percent when computed), conditioned
on the set of RUs characterized as eligible for MEPS for that round. Taking the
product of the percentage of the NHIS sample eligible for MEPS (row A) with the
product of the ratios for a consecutive set of MEPS rounds beginning with round
one produces the overall response rate through the last MEPS round specified.
The overall response rate for the combined
sample of Panels 5 and 6 for 2001 has been obtained by computing the products of
the relative sample sizes and the corresponding overall panel response rates and
then summing the two products. Panel 6 represents about two-thirds of the
combined sample size while Panel 5 represents the remaining third. Thus, the
combined response rate is (2/3) times the overall Panel 6 response rate through
Round 3 plus one-third times the overall Panel 5 response rate through Round 5.
Note that there has been mention made of
oversampling rates. In a sample where all persons in a population are selected
with the same probability, the sample distribution is expected to be
proportionate to the population distribution. For example, if Hispanics
represent 15 percent of the general population, one would expect roughly 15
percent of the persons sampled to be Hispanic. However, in order to improve the
precision of estimates for subgroups of a population, one might decide to select
samples from those subgroups at higher rates than the remainder of the
population. Thus, one might select Hispanics at twice the rate (i.e., at double
the probability) of persons not oversampled. Thus, subgroups that are "oversampled"
are represented at disproportionately high rates in the sample. The sample
weights then are used so that population estimates account for this
disproportionate contribution from oversampled subgroups, as the base sample
weights for oversampled groups will be smaller than for the portion of the
population not oversampled. If a subgroup is sampled at roughly twice the rate
of sample selection for the remainder of the population not oversampled, members
of the subgroup will receive base or initial sample weights (prior to
nonresponse or poststratification adjustments) that are roughly half the size of
the group "not oversampled"
Return To Table Of Contents
3.1.2 Panel 6
For MEPS Panel 6, Round 1 10,651 households
were fielded in 2001 (row C of Table 3.1), a nationally representative subsample
of the households responding to the 2000 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
Similar to the earlier MEPS panels, the Panel 6 sample reflects the oversampling
of Hispanic and black households resulting from the NHIS sample design. Hispanic
households were oversampled at a rate of roughly 2 to 1. That is, the
probability of selecting a Hispanic household for participation in the NHIS was
roughly twice that for households in the general population that were not
oversampled. The oversampling rate for black households was roughly 1.5 to 1.
Oversampling a subgroup is done to improve the precision of survey estimates for
that particular subgroup. The "cost" of oversampling is that the precision of
estimates for the general population will be reduced to some extent compared to
the precision one could achieve for the general population if the same overall
sample size were selected but no oversampling was undertaken.
Table 3.1 shows the number of RUs eligible
for interviewing in each Round of Panel 6 as well as the number of RUs
completing the MEPS interview. Computing the individual Round "conditional"
Response Rates as described in section 3.1.1 and then taking the product of the
resulting three "conditional" round response rates and the factor 89.88 (the
percentage of the NHIS sampled households eligible for MEPS) yields an overall
response rate of 66.8 percent for Panel 6 through Round 3.
Of the 21,824 Panel 6 full year MEPS
respondents with person-level weights for calendar year 2001, 21,568 were
inscope on December 31, 2001.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.1.3 Panel 5
For MEPS Panel 5, 5,357 households were
fielded in 2000 (as indicated in Row C of Table 3.1), a nationally
representative subsample of the households responding to the 1999 National
Health Interview Survey (NHIS). As with Panel 6, Panel 5 reflects the
oversampling of Hispanic and blacks undertaken for the NHIS.
Table 3.1 shows the number of RUs eligible
for interviewing and the number completing the interview for all five rounds of
Panel 5. The overall response rate for Panel 5 has been computed in a similar
fashion to that of Panel 6 but covering all five rounds of MEPS interviewing as
well the factor representing the percentage of NHIS sampled households eligible
for MEPS. The overall response rate for Panel 5 through Round 5 is 65.4 percent.
Of the 10,298 Panel 5 full year MEPS
respondents with person-level weights for calendar year 2001, 10,177 were
inscope on December 31, 2001.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.1.4 Combined Panel Response
A combined 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 5 response rate was weighted by a
factor of one-third while that of Panel 6 by a factor of two-thirds, reflecting
approximately the distribution of the sample sizes between the two panels. The
resulting combined response rate for the combined panels is ((1/3) x 65.4) plus
((2/3) x 66.8) or 66.3 percent (as shown in Table 3.1). There were 32,122
person-level survey participants.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.2 Person-level Estimation Using This MEPS Public Use Release
Overview
There is a single person-level weight
variable called PERWT01F. However, care should be taken in its application as it
permits both “point-in-time” and “range of time” estimates, depending on the
variables used to define the set of persons of interest for analysis. A
person-level weight was assigned to each key, inscope person who responded to
MEPS for the full period of time that he or she was inscope during the MEPS. For
Panel 6 this requirement pertained only to 2001, but for Panel 5 it pertained to
both 2000 and 2001. (Recall that a person is inscope whenever he or she is a
member of the civilian, noninstitutionalized portion of the U.S. population.)
Developing Person-level MEPS Estimates
The data in this file can be used to develop
estimates on persons in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population on
December 31, 2001 and for the slightly larger population of persons in the
civilian, noninstitutionalized population at any time during 2001. To obtain a
cross-sectional (point-in-time) estimate for all inscope persons living in the
country on December 31, 2001, include cases with both PERWT01F>0 (a positive
person-level weight) and INSC1231=1 (the person is inscope on December 31,
2001). To obtain an estimate for all persons who were inscope at some time in
2001, include all cases with PERWT01F>0. After selecting the appropriate cases,
apply the weight variable PERWT01F to the analytic variable(s) of interest to
obtain national estimates. Table 3.2 contains a summary of cases to include and
sample sizes for these two populations.
Table 3.2 Summary of Included Cases and Sample Sizes
Population of Interest |
Cases to Include |
Sample Size |
Civilian, Noninstitutionalized Population on
December 31, 2001 |
PERWT01F>0 and INSC1231=1 |
31,745 |
Civilian, Noninstitutionalized Population over the course of 2001 |
PERWT01F>0 |
32,122 |
Details on Person-Level Weights Construction
Overview
The person-level weight PERWT01F was
developed in three stages. A person-level weight for Panel 6 was created,
including both an adjustment for nonresponse over time and poststratification,
controlling to Current Population Survey (CPS) population estimates based on six
different variables (race/ethnicity, sex, age, poverty status, region, MSA).
Then a person-level weight for Panel 5 was created, again including an
adjustment for nonresponse over time and poststratification, controlling to CPS
population estimates based on the same six variables. A composite weight was
formed from the Panel 5 and Panel 6 weights by multiplying the Panel weights by
factors corresponding to the relative sample size of the two panels. Then a
final poststratification was done on this composite weight variable, again based
on the same six poststratification variables used previously.
MEPS Panel 5
The person-level weight for MEPS Panel 5 was
developed using the 2000 full year weight for an individual as a “base” weight
for survey participants present in 2000. For key, inscope respondents who joined
an RU some time in 2001 after being out-of-scope in 2000, the “base” weight was
taken to be the 2000 family weight associated with the family the person joined.
The weighting process included an adjustment for nonresponse over Rounds 4 and 5
as well as poststratification to population control totals for December, 2001
for key, responding persons inscope on December 31, 2001. These control totals
were derived by scaling back the population distribution obtained from the March
2002 CPS to reflect the December, 2001 estimated population distribution,
employing age and sex data available from the December, 2001 CPS. Variables used
in the establishment of person-level poststratification control figures
included: census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West); MSA status (MSA, non-MSA);
race/ethnicity (Hispanic, black but non-Hispanic, and other); sex, and age. Key
responding persons not inscope on December 31, 2001 but inscope earlier in the
year retained, as their final Panel 5 weight, the weight after the nonresponse
adjustment.
MEPS Panel 6
The person-level weight for MEPS Panel 6 was
developed using the MEPS Round 1 person-level weight as a “base” weight. For
key, inscope respondents who joined an RU after Round 1, the Round 1 family
weight served as a “base” weight. The weighting process included an adjustment
for nonresponse over the remaining data collection rounds in 2001 as well as
poststratification to the same population control figures for December 2001 used
for the MEPS Panel 5 weights for key, responding persons inscope on December 31,
2001. The same five variables employed for Panel 5 poststratification (census
region, MSA status, race/ethnicity, sex, and age) were used for Panel 6
poststratification. As with Panel 5, Panel 6 key, responding persons not inscope
on December 31, 2001 but inscope earlier in the year retained the weight after
nonresponse adjustment as their final Panel 6 weight.
Note that the MEPS Round 1 weights for both
panels incorporated the following components: the original household probability
of selection for the NHIS; ratio-adjustment to NHIS-based national population
estimates at the household (occupied DU) level; adjustment for nonresponse at
the DU-level for Round 1; and poststratification to figures at the family and
person level obtained from the corresponding March CPS data bases.
The Final Weight for 2001
Variables used in the establishment of
person-level poststratification to control totals derived from CPS data
included: census region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West); MSA status (MSA, non-MSA);
race/ethnicity (Hispanic, black but non-Hispanic, and other); sex, and age.
Persons included in this poststratification were those inscope on December 31,
2001. In addition, the weights of some persons out-of-scope on December 31, 2001
were also poststratified. Specifically, the weights of persons out-of-scope on
December 31, 2001 that were inscope some time during the year and also entered a
nursing home during the year were poststratified to a corresponding control
total obtained from the 1996 MEPS Nursing Home Component. The weights of persons
who died while inscope during 2001 were poststratified to corresponding
estimates derived using data obtained from the Medicare Current Beneficiary
Survey (MCBS) and Vital Statistics information provided by the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS). Separate control totals were developed for the “65
and older” and “under 65” civilian, noninstitutionalized populations.
Overall, the weighted population estimate for
the civilian, noninstitutionalized population for December 31, 2001 is
280,791,812 (PERWT01F>0 and INSC1231=1). The inclusion of key, inscope persons
who were not inscope on December 31, 2001 brings the estimated total number of
persons represented by the MEPS respondents over the course of the year to
284,247,327 (PERWT01F>0). It may be noted that, if one were to compare the MEPS
estimates for the civilian, noninstitutionalized population for 2001 to those
from previous years, there would appear to be a sizeable increase in 2001. In
previous years the percentage increase has been slightly under one percent while
between the 2000 and 2001 MEPS population estimates it is roughly two percent.
This is due to the fact that CPS control figures are used for poststratification
of the weights, and the MEPS full year 2001 file is the first that incorporates
CPS figures that reflect 2000 Census figures instead of projections from figures
obtained from the 1990 Census. The projections were somewhat low compared to
2000 Census figures. Some subgroups were particularly affected. For example, the
new CPS figures provide population estimates for Hispanics that are roughly 8
percent higher than previous projections suggested.
Table 3.3 Persons with a person weight for the 2001 Full Year file
|
Panel 5 |
Panel 6 |
Combined |
Population estimate
(weighted total of combined sample) |
Number |
10,298 |
21,824 |
32,122 |
284,247,327 |
Coverage
The target population associated with this
MEPS database is the 2001 U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population.
However, the MEPS sampled households are a subsample of the NHIS households
interviewed in 1999 (Panel 5) and 2000 (Panel 6). New households created after
the NHIS interviews for the respective Panels and consisting exclusively of
persons who entered the target population after 1999 (Panel 5) or after 2000
(Panel 6) are not covered by MEPS. Neither are previously out-of-scope persons
who join an existing household but are unrelated to the current household
residents. Persons not covered by a given MEPS panel thus include some members
of the following groups: immigrants; persons leaving the military; U.S. citizens
returning from residence in another country; and persons leaving institutions.
The set of uncovered persons constitutes only a small proportion of the MEPS
target population.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.3 Family-level Estimation Using This MEPS Public Use Release
There is a single family weight variable
called FAMWT01F provided in this release. FAMWT01F can be used to make estimates
for the cross-section of families in the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized
population on December 31, 2001 where families are identified based on the MEPS
definition of a family unit. Estimates can include MEPS families that existed at
some time during 2001 but whose members became out-of-scope prior to the end of
the year (e.g., all family members moved out of the country, died, etc.) as well
as MEPS families in existence on December 31, 2001.
Definition of “Family” for Estimation
Purposes
A family in MEPS generally consists of two or
more persons living together in the same household who are related by blood,
marriage, or adoption, as well as foster children. (Foster children are not
included as members under the CPS definition of a family.) However, MEPS also
defines as a family unmarried persons living together who consider themselves a
family unit (these are not families under the CPS definition.). Single persons
living with neither a relative nor a person identified as a “significant other”
have also been assigned a family ID value and a family-level weight, and thus
can be included or excluded from family-level estimates, as desired. Relatives
identified as usual residents of the household 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.
To make estimates at the family-level, it is
necessary to prepare a family-level file containing one record per family (see
instructions below), family-level summary characteristics, and the family-level
weight variable (FAMWT01F). Each MEPS family unit is uniquely identified by the
combination of the variables DUID and FAMIDYR. The number of persons in a MEPS
sample family ranges from 1 to 14 (the positive values for the variable FAMSZEYR).
Only persons with positive nonzero family weight values (FAMWT01F>0) are
candidates for inclusion in family estimates.
Two sets of families for whom estimates can
be obtained are defined in table 3.4 below (along with respective sample sizes).
Persons with FMRS1231=1 were inscope for the survey on 12/31/01 and therefore
part of a MEPS family on 12/31/01. The more expansive definition of families
(second row in table 3.4) includes families and members of families who were not
inscope at the end of the year. While MEPS includes individual persons as family
units (about one-third of all units) to cover the entire civilian,
noninstitutionalized population, analysts may restrict their analyses to
families with two or more members using the family size variables shown in table
3.4 (for example, to limit consideration to the cross-section of families with
two or more members in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population on December
31, 2001, consider only families where FAMS1231 is at least 2.)
Table 3.4 MEPS Families
Population of Interest |
Cases to Include |
Sample Size (Includes single person units) |
Family Size Variable |
Cross-section of Families in the Civilian
Noninstitutionalized Population on 12/31/01 |
FAMWT01F>0 & FMRS1231=1 |
12,728 |
FAMS1231 |
Families in the Civilian
Noninstitutionalized Population on 12/31/01 plus families and members of
families in existence earlier in 2001 who were not part of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population on 12/31/01 |
FAMWT01F>0 |
12,852 |
FAMSZEYR |
Instructions to Create Family Estimates
The following is a summary of the steps and the variables
to be used for family-level estimation based on the MEPS type definition of
families.
-
Concatenate the variables DUID and FAMIDYR into a new variable (e.g., DUIDFAMY).
-
To create a family-level file, sort by DUIDFAMY and
then subset to one record per DUIDFAMY value by retaining only the reference
person record (FAMRFPYR=1) for each value of DUIDFAMY. Some family-level
measures needed for analytic purposes (e.g., means or totals) can be obtained
after aggregating person-level information across all members of a family. For
other types of measures, analysts frequently use the characteristics of the
reference person to characterize his or her family unit (e.g., the
race/ethnicity, marital status, or age of the reference person).
-
Apply the weight FAMWT01F to the analytic variable(s) of interest to obtain national family estimates.
Details on Family Weight Construction and Estimated
Number of Families
To develop the family-level weight (FAMWT01F), the
person-level weight (PERWT01F) of the family reference person (FAMRFPYR=1) was
used as the “base” weight for all responding full year families. Then, for
responding families eligible for weighting and in existence at the end of 2001,
these “base” weights were poststratified to population control figures derived
from CPS estimates for December 2001 (these figures were derived by scaling the
population totals obtained from the March 2002 CPS to reflect family estimates
as of December, 2001). The family-level poststratification incorporated the
following variables: census region; MSA status; race/ethnicity of reference
person (Hispanic, black but non Hispanic, and other); family type (reference
person married, living with spouse; male reference person, unmarried or spouse
not present; female reference person, unmarried or spouse not present); age of
reference person; and family size as of December 31, 2001.
Overall, the weighted population estimate for the 12,728
MEPS family units containing at least one member of the U.S. civilian,
noninstitutionalized population on December 31, 2001 (those families whose
members have FAMWT01F>0 and FMRS1231=1) is 117,443,879. The inclusion of
families whose members left the inscope population prior to December 31, 2001
brought the estimated total number of families represented by the 12,852 MEPS
responding families (those families whose members have FAMWT01F>0) to
118,795,584.
Table 3.5. Families with a family weight for the 2001 Full Year file
|
Panel 5 |
Panel 6 |
Combined |
Population estimate (weighted total of combined sample) |
Number |
4,156 |
8,696 |
12,852 |
118,795,584 |
Return To Table Of Contents
3.4 Analysis Using Health Insurance Eligibility Units
To construct a weight for use in analysis using Health
Insurance Eligibility Units, as identified by the variable HIEUIDX:
Identify the HIEU head by your analytic intent, i.e.
if only studying heath insurance unit with female heads of households, choose the
female adult as head of household.
-
If the weight of the HIEU head is non-zero, use the
weight of the HIEU head for all members of that HIEU; or
-
If the weight of the HIEU head is zero, delete the
case.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.5 Weights and Response Rates for the Self-Administered Questionnaire
For analytic purposes, a single person-level weight
variable, SAQWT01F, has been provided for use with the data obtained from the
Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ). This questionnaire was administered in
Panel 6, Round 2 and Panel 5, Round 4 and was to be completed by each adult
(person aged 18 or older) in the family. Thus, the target population for the SAQ
is adults in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population at the time data were
collected for Rounds 2/4.
The weight variable was developed by first adjusting for
questionnaire non-response. Variables included in the undertaking of the
nonresponse adjustment were region, MSA status, family size, marital status,
level of education, health status, health insurance status, and age. Then the
weights were poststratified to Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates
corresponding to December 2001 (the same source of control figures used for the
full year person weights). The poststratification variables were region, MSA
status, age, sex, and race/ethnicity, as were used in the poststratification of
the full year person weights. The sole difference is that the age group 15-19
used for the full year weights was partitioned into two cells, 15-17 and 18-19.
Only the 18-19 figures were used for poststratification purposes as only adults
were of interest for the SAQ.
In all, there were 20,966 persons assigned a SAQ weight
with the sum of the weights being 208,271,773 (an estimate of the adult
civilian, noninstitutionalized population at the time the SAQ was administered).
The Panel 5, Round 4 response rate for the SAQ was 93.1
percent, while the Panel 6, Round 2 response rate for the SAQ was 93.2 percent.
Pooled response rates for the survey respondents have been computed by taking a
weighted average of the panel-specific response rates, where the weights were
the relative proportion of persons with sample weights associated with each
panel (about one-third associated with Panel 5, the remaining two thirds with
Panel 6). The pooled response rate for the combined panels for the SAQ is 93.2
percent.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.6 Weights and Response Rates for the Diabetes Care Survey
A person-level weight, DIABW01F, was developed for use
with the data obtained from the Diabetes Care Survey (DCS). This weight was
assigned to each person with a SAQ weight who also was established as having
diabetes through the following process (persons aged 17 or under were not
considered eligible for a DCS weight).
First a knowledgeable adult family member sharing the same
residence was asked to identify any family member in the residence having
diabetes. Then, those identified with diabetes were asked if a doctor had ever
indicated that the person had diabetes. Those who responded affirmatively to
that question and who also had a SAQ weight were assigned a DCS weight.
In all, 1,329 people were assigned a DCS weight
(DIABW01F>0). The sum of the DCS weights is 13,676,743, an estimate of the adult
population with diabetes as identified by the two step process described above.
This estimate can be expected to slightly understate the number of persons
diagnosed with diabetes as two components of the population are excluded. These
are: family members not identified by the "knowledgeable adult family member";
and persons who joined an RU in Round 3 of Panel 6 or Round 5 of Panel 5 (this
latter group was not eligible for the SAQ and thus not eligible for a DCS
weight).
The Panel 5, Round 5 response rate for the DCS was 87.7
percent. The Panel 6, Round 3 response rate for the DCS was 85.5 percent. The
pooled response rate for the combined panels for the DCS is 86.4 percent. The
pooled response rate is a weighted average for the two panels, reflecting their
relative sample sizes (roughly one-third of the respondents are from Panel 5,
the remaining two-thirds from Panel 6).
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, the complex sample design of MEPS for both person and
family-level analyses must be taken into account. Various approaches can be used
to develop such estimates of variance including use of the Taylor series or
replication methodologies. Replicate weights have not been developed for the
MEPS 2001 data.
Using a Taylor Series approach, variance estimation strata
and the variance estimation PSUs within these strata must be specified. The
corresponding variables on the 2001 MEPS full year utilization data base are
VARSTR01 and VARPSU01, respectively. Specifying a “with replacement” design in a
computer software package, such as SUDAAN, should provide 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 actual
number available. For MEPS sample estimates for characteristics generally
distributed throughout the country (and thus the sample PSUs), one can expect at
least 100 degrees of freedom for the 2001 full year data associated with the
corresponding estimates of variance.
Return To Table Of Contents
3.7 Guidelines for which weight to use for analysis involving data/variables from multiple sources and supplements: MEPS 2001 full-year use file
In general, the appropriate analytic weight is the one
that incorporates all potential levels of nonresponse.
For analysis involving variables from the SAQ, the
SAQWT01F should be used. For example, if examining access to care or quality of
care variables by social-demographics, health status, or health insurance,
SAQWT01F is the appropriate weight even though person level socio-demographic
variables, health status, and health insurance are part of the core person level
questionnaire. The exception is for analysis involving access to care or quality
of care variables from the SAQ and variables from the Diabetes Care Survey where
DIABW00F should be used.
For analysis of the Diabetes Care Survey variables by
socio-demographic variables, health status, or health insurance (for example),
DIABW01F should be used.
For all other person level analyses, those not involving
variables from the SAQ or DCS, PERWT01F should be used.
For all family level analysis, FAMWT01F should be used.
Return To Table Of Contents
D. Variable-Source Crosswalk
SURVEY ADMINISTRATION VARIABLES - PUBLIC USE
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
DUID |
Dwelling Unit ID |
Assigned in Sampling |
PID |
Person Number |
Assigned in Sampling or
by CAPI |
DUPERSID |
Person ID (DUID+PID) |
Assigned in Sampling |
PANEL01 |
Panel Number |
Constructed |
FAMID31 |
Family ID (Student
Merged In) – R3/1 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMID42 |
Family ID (Student
Merged In) – R4/2 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMID53 |
Family ID (Student
Merged In) – R5/3 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMID01 |
Family ID (Student
Merged In) – 12/31/01 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMIDYR |
Annual Family
Identifier |
Constructed |
CPSFAMID |
CPS-Like Family
Identifier |
Constructed |
HIEUIDX |
Health Insurance
Eligibility Unit Identifier |
Constructed |
FCSZ1231 |
Family Size Responding
12/31 CPS Family |
Constructed |
FCRP1231 |
Ref Person of 12/31 CPS
Family |
Constructed |
RULETR31 |
RU Letter – R3/1 |
CAPI Derived |
RULETR42 |
RU Letter – R4/2 |
CAPI Derived |
RULETR53 |
RU Letter – R5/3 |
CAPI Derived |
RULETR01 |
RU Letter As of
12/31/01 |
CAPI Derived |
RUSIZE31 |
RU Size – R3/1 |
CAPI Derived |
RUSIZE42 |
RU Size – R4/2 |
CAPI Derived |
RUSIZE53 |
RU Size – R5/3 |
CAPI Derived |
RUSIZE01 |
RU Size As of 12/31/01 |
CAPI Derived |
RUCLAS31 |
RU fielded as:
Standard/New/Student – R3/1 |
CAPI Derived |
RUCLAS42 |
RU fielded as:
Standard/New/Student – R4/2 |
CAPI Derived |
RUCLAS53 |
RU fielded as:
Standard/New/Student – R5/3 |
CAPI Derived |
RUCLAS01 |
RU fielded as:
Standard/New/Stud-12/31/01 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMSZE31 |
RU Size Including
Students – R3/1 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMSZE42 |
RU Size Including
Students – R4/2 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMSZE53 |
RU Size Including
Students – R5/3 |
CAPI Derived |
FAMSZE01 |
RU Size Including
Students As of 12/31/01 |
CAPI Derived |
FMRS1231 |
Member of Responding
12/31 Family |
Constructed |
FAMS1231 |
Family Size of
Responding 12/31 Family |
Constructed |
FAMSZEYR |
Size of Responding
Annualized Family |
Constructed |
FAMRFPYR |
Reference Person of
Annualized Family |
Constructed |
REFPRS31 |
Reference Person At -
R3/1 |
RE 42-45 |
REFPRS42 |
Reference Person At -
R4/2 |
RE 42-45 |
REFPRS53 |
Reference Person At -
R5/3 |
RE 42-45 |
REFPRS01 |
Reference Person As Of
12/31/01 |
RE 42-45 |
RESP31 |
1st Respondent
Indicator For R3/1 |
RE 6, 8 |
RESP42 |
1st Respondent
Indicator For R4/2 |
RE 6, 8 |
RESP53 |
1st Respondent
Indicator For R5/3 |
RE 6, 8 |
RESP01 |
1st Respondent
Indicator As Of 12/31/01 |
RE 6, 8 |
PROXY31 |
Was Respondent A Proxy
In R3/1 |
RE 2 |
PROXY42 |
Was Respondent A Proxy
In R4/2 |
RE 2 |
PROXY53 |
Was Respondent A Proxy
In R5/3 |
RE 2 |
PROXY01 |
Was Respondent A Proxy
As Of 12/31/01 |
RE 2 |
INTVLANG |
Language in Which
Interview Was Completed |
Constructed |
BEGRFD31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
Begin Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFM31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
Begin Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFY31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
Begin Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFD31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
End Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFM31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
End Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFY31 |
R3/1 Reference Period
End Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFD42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
Begin Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFM42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
Begin Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFY42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
Begin Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFD42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
End Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFM42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
End Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFY42 |
R4/2 Reference Period
End Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFD53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
Begin Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFM53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
Begin Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
BEGRFY53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
Begin Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFD53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
End Date: Day |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFM53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
End Date: Month |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFY53 |
R5/3 Reference Period
End Date: Year |
CAPI Derived |
ENDRFD01 |
2001 Reference Period
End Date: Day |
RE Section |
ENDRFM01 |
2001 Reference Period
End Date: Month |
RE Section |
ENDRFY01 |
2001 Reference Period
End Date: Year |
RE Section |
KEYNESS |
Person Key Status |
RE Section |
INSCOP31 |
Inscope – R3/1 |
RE Section |
INSCOP42 |
Inscope – R4/2 |
RE Section |
INSCOP53 |
Inscope – R5/3 |
RE Section |
INSCOP01 |
Inscope – R5/3 Start
Through 12/31/01 |
RE Section |
INSC1231 |
Inscope Status on
12/31/01 |
Constructed |
INSCOPE |
Was Person Ever Inscope
In 2001 |
RE Section |
ELGRND31 |
Eligibility – R3/1 |
RE Section |
ELGRND42 |
Eligibility – R4/2 |
RE Section |
ELGRND53 |
Eligibility – R5/3 |
RE Section |
ELGRND01 |
Eligibility Status as
of 12/31/01 |
RE Section |
ELIGIBLE |
Was Person Ever
Eligible In 2001 |
RE Section |
PSTATS31 |
Person Disposition
Status – R3/1 |
RE Section |
PSTATS42 |
Person Disposition
Status – R4/2 |
RE Section |
PSTATS53 |
Person Disposition
Status – R5/3 |
RE Section |
RURSLT31 |
RU Result – R3/1 |
Assigned by CAPI |
RURSLT42 |
RU Result – R4/2 |
Assigned by CAPI |
RURSLT53 |
RU Result – R5/3 |
Assigned by CAPI |
Return To Table Of Contents
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES - PUBLIC USE
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
REGION31 |
Census Region – R3/1 |
Assigned in Sampling |
REGION42 |
Census Region – R4/2 |
Assigned in Sampling |
REGION53 |
Census Region – R5/3 |
Assigned in Sampling |
REGION01 |
Census Region As Of
12/31/01 |
Assigned in Sampling |
MSA31 |
MSA Status – R3/1 |
Assigned in Sampling |
MSA42 |
MSA Status – R4/2 |
Assigned in Sampling |
MSA53 |
MSA Status – R5/3 |
Assigned in Sampling |
MSA01 |
MSA Status As Of
12/31/01 |
Assigned in Sampling |
AGE53X |
Age – R5/3
(Edited/Imputed) |
RE 12, 57-66 |
AGE01X |
Age as of 12/31/01
(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 |
MARRY31X |
Marital Status – R3/1
(Edited/Imputed) |
RE 13, 97 |
MARRY42X |
Marital Status – R4/2
(Edited/Imputed) |
RE 13, 97 |
MARRY53X |
Marital Status – R5/3
(Edited/Imputed) |
RE 13, 97 |
MARRY01X |
Marital Status–12/31/01
(Edited/Imputed) |
RE 13, 97 |
SPOUID31 |
Spouse ID – R3/1 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUID42 |
Spouse ID – R4/2 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUID53 |
Spouse ID – R5/3 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUID01 |
Spouse ID – 12/31/01 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUIN31 |
Marital Status W/
Spouse Present – R3/1 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUIN42 |
Marital Status W/
Spouse Present – R4/2 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUIN53 |
Marital Status W/
Spouse Present – R5/3 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
SPOUIN01 |
Marital Status W/Spouse
Present–12/31/01 |
RE 13, 76, 77, 97 |
EDUCYEAR |
Years of Educ When
First Entered MEPS |
RE 103-105 |
HIDEGYR |
Highest Degree When
First Entered MEPS |
RE 103-105 |
FTSTU31X |
Student Status If Ages
17-23 – R3/1 |
RE 11A, 106-108 |
FTSTU42X |
Student Status If Ages
17-23 – R4/2 |
RE 11A, 106-108 |
FTSTU53X |
Student Status If Ages
17-23 – R5/3 |
RE 11A, 106-108 |
FTSTU01X |
Student Status If Ages
17-23 – 12/31/01 |
RE 11A, 106-108 |
ACTDTY31 |
Military Full-Time
Active Duty – R3/1 |
RE14, 96A |
ACTDTY42 |
Military Full-Time
Active Duty – R4/2 |
RE 14, 96B1 |
ACTDTY53 |
Military Full-Time
Active Duty – R5/3 |
RE 14, 96B1 |
DIDSERVE |
Ever Served In Armed
Forces |
RE 18, 95 |
VETVIET |
Served In Vietnam War
Era |
RE 35, 94, 94A, 95, 96 |
VETKOR |
Served In Korean War
Era |
RE 35, 94, 94A, 95, 96 |
VETWW |
Served In WWI Or WW2
Era |
RE 35, 94, 94A, 95, 96 |
VETGULF |
Served in Persian
Gulf/Desert Storm |
RE 35, 94, 94A, 95, 96 |
VETOTH |
Served In Other Period |
RE 35, 94, 94A, 95, 96 |
RFREL31X |
Relation To Ref Pers –
R3/1 (Edit/Imp) |
RE 76-77 |
RFREL42X |
Relation To Ref Pers –
R4/2 (Edit/Imp) |
RE 76-77 |
RFREL53X |
Relation To Ref Pers –
R5/3 (Edit/Imp) |
RE 76-77 |
RFREL01X |
Relation To Ref Pers –
12/31/01 (Edit/Imp) |
RE 76-77 |
MOPID31X |
PID of Person’s Mom –
RD 3/1 |
RE 76-77 |
MOPID42X |
PID of Person’s Mom –
RD 4/2 |
RE 76-77 |
MOPID53X |
PID of Person’s Mom –
RD 5/3 |
RE 76-77 |
DAPID31X |
PID of Person’s Dad –
RD 3/1 |
RE 76-77 |
DAPID42X |
PID of Person’s Dad –
RD 4/2 |
RE 76-77 |
DAPID53X |
PID of Person’s Dad –
RD 5/3 |
RE 76-77 |
Return To Table Of Contents
INCOME VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
SSIDIS01 |
SSI Receipt Due To
Disability |
IN 39 |
AFDC01 |
Did Person’s Check
Include Tanf |
IN 44 |
FILEDR01 |
Has Person Filed A Fed
Income Tax Return |
IN 02 |
WILFIL01 |
Will Person File Fed
Income Tax Return |
IN 03 |
FLSTAT01 |
Person’s Filing Status |
IN 04 |
FILER01 |
Primary Or Secondary
Filer |
IN 04 |
JTINRU01 |
Joint Filer’s
Membership In RU |
IN 05 |
JNTPID01 |
PID of Joint Filer |
IN 05 |
CLMDEP01 |
Did/Will Pers Claim
Dependents On Return |
IN 06 |
DEPDNT01 |
Person Is Flagged A
Dependent |
IN 07 |
DPINRU01 |
Dependents In/Out Of RU |
IN 07 |
DPOTSD01 |
How Many Dependents
Live Outside RU |
IN 08 |
TAXFRM01 |
Tax Form Person Will
File |
IN 09 |
DEDUCT01 |
Itemize Or Standard
Deduction |
IN 10 |
ITMEXP01 |
Will Person Itemize
Medical Expense |
IN 11 |
MEXAMT01 |
Total Medical Expenses
Deducted |
IN 12 |
NTMDED01 |
Person’s Net Medical
Expense Deduction |
IN 13 |
TOTDED01 |
Total Of All Itemized
Deductions |
IN 14 |
CLMHIP01 |
Did/Will Pers Deduct
Health Insur Prem |
IN 15 |
ELDISC01 |
Did/Will Pers Receive
Elderly/Disab Cred |
IN 16 |
EICRDT01 |
Did/Will Pers Receive
Earned Inc Credit |
IN 17 |
UNEMTX01 |
Taxable Percentage Of
Unemployment |
IN 30OV |
INTRTX01 |
Taxable Percentage Of
Interest |
IN 19OV |
SSECTX01 |
Taxable Percentage Of
Social Security |
IN 31OV |
IRATAX01 |
Taxable Percentage Of
Ira Income |
IN 25OV |
FOODST01 |
Did Anyone Purchase
Food Stamps |
IN 55 |
FOODMN01 |
Number Of Months Food
Stamps Purchased |
IN 56 |
FOODCT01 |
Monthly Amount Family
Paid For Food Stamps |
IN 57 |
FOODVL01 |
Monthly Value Of Food
Stamps |
IN 58 |
TTLP01X |
Person’s Total Income |
Constructed |
POVCAT01 |
Family Income As
Percent Of Poverty Line |
Constructed |
WAGEP01X |
Person’s Wage Income |
Constructed |
WAGIMP01 |
Wage Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
BUSNP01X |
Person’s Business
Income |
Constructed |
BUSIMP01 |
Business Income
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
FARMP01X |
Person’s Farm Income |
Constructed |
FARIMP01 |
Farm Income Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
UNEMP01X |
Person’s Unemployment
Comp Income |
Constructed |
UNEIMP01 |
Unemployment Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
WCMPP01X |
Person’s Workers’
Compensation |
Constructed |
WCPIMP01 |
Workers' Comp
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
INTRP01X |
Person’s Interest
Income |
Constructed |
INTIMP01 |
Interest Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
DIVDP01X |
Person’s Dividend
Income |
Constructed |
DIVIMP01 |
Dividend Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
SALEP01X |
Person’s Sales Income |
Constructed |
SALIMP01 |
Sales Income Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
PENSP01X |
Person’s Pension Income |
Constructed |
PENIMP01 |
Pension Income
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
SSECP01X |
Person’s Social
Security Income |
Constructed |
SSCIMP01 |
Social Security
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
TRSTP01X |
Person’s Trust/Rent
Income |
Constructed |
TRTIMP01 |
Trust Income Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
VETSP01X |
Person’s Veteran’s
Income |
Constructed |
VETIMP01 |
Veteran's Income
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
IRASP01X |
Person’s Ira Income |
Constructed |
IRAIMP01 |
Ira Income Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
REFDP01X |
Person’s Refund Income |
Constructed |
REFIMP01 |
Refund Income
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
ALIMP01X |
Person’s Alimony Income |
Constructed |
ALIIMP01 |
Alimony Income
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
CHLDP01X |
Person’s Child Support |
Constructed |
CHLIMP01 |
Child Support
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
CASHP01X |
Person’s Other Regular
Cash Contrib |
Constructed |
CSHIMP01 |
Cash Contribution
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
SSIP01X |
Person’s SSI |
Constructed |
SSIIMP01 |
SSI Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
PUBP01X |
Person’s Public
Assistance |
Constructed |
PUBIMP01 |
Public Assistance
Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
OTHRP01X |
Person’s Other Income |
Constructed |
OTHIMP01 |
Other Income Imputation
Flag |
Constructed |
Return To Table Of Contents
EMPLOYMENT VARIABLES - PUBLIC USE
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
EMPST31 |
Employment Status Rd
3/1 |
EM 1-3; RJ 1, 6 |
EMPST42 |
Employment Status Rd
4/2 |
EM 1-3; RJ 1, 6 |
EMPST53 |
Employment Status Rd
5/3 |
EM 1-3; RJ 1, 6 |
RNDFLG31 |
Data Collection Round
for Rd 3/1 CMJ |
Constructed |
MORJOB31 |
Has More Than One Job
Rd 3/1 Int Date |
EM 1-4, 51; RJ 1, 6;
Constructed |
MORJOB42 |
Has More Than One Job
Rd 4/2 Int Date |
EM 1-4, 51; RJ 1, 6;
Constructed |
MORJOB53 |
Has More Than One Job
Rd 5/3 Int Date |
EM 1-4, 51; RJ 1, 6;
Constructed |
EVRWRK |
Ever Worked For Pay in
Life as of 12/31/01 |
EM 1-4, 51; RJ 1, 6;
Constructed |
HRWG31X |
Hourly Wage Rd 3/1 CMJ
(Imputed) |
EW 5, 7, 11-13, 17-18,
24;
EM 104, 111 |
HRWG42X |
Hourly Wage Rd 4/2 CMJ
(Imputed) |
EW 5, 7, 11-13, 17-18,
24;
EM 104, 111 |
HRWG53X |
Hourly Wage Rd 5/3 CMJ
(Imputed) |
EW 5, 7, 11-13, 17-18,
24;
EM 104, 111 |
HRWGIM31 |
HRWG31X Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
HRWGIM42 |
HRWG42X Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
HRWGIM53 |
HRWG53X Imputation Flag |
Constructed |
HRHOW31 |
How Hourly Wage Was
Calculated R3/1 |
EM 2-3, 51, 104, 111;
EW 2-24 |
HRHOW42 |
How Hourly Wage Was
Calculated R4/2 |
EM 2-3, 51, 104, 111;
EW 2-24 |
HRHOW53 |
How Hourly Wage Was
Calculated R5/3 |
EM 2-3, 51, 104, 111;
EW 2-24 |
HOUR31 |
Hours Per Week at RD
3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 104-105,
111; EW 17 |
HOUR42 |
Hours Per Week at RD
4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 104-105,
111; EW 17 |
HOUR53 |
Hours Per Week at RD
5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 104-105,
111; EW 17 |
TEMPJB31 |
Is CMJ a Temporary Job
RD31 |
EM 105C, 111C; RJ 01AA,
06A |
TEMPJB42 |
Is CMJ a Temporary Job
RD42 |
EM 105C, 111C; RJ 01AA,
06A |
TEMPJB53 |
Is CMJ a Temporary Job
RD53 |
EM 105C, 111C; RJ 01AA,
06A |
SSNLJB31 |
Is CMJ a Seasonal Job
RD31 |
EM 105D, 111D; RJ
01AAA, 06AA |
SSNLJB42 |
Is CMJ a Seasonal Job
RD42 |
EM 105D, 111D; RJ
01AAA, 06AA |
SSNLJB53 |
Is CMJ a Seasonal Job
RD53 |
EM 105D, 111D; RJ
01AAA, 06AA |
SELFCM31 |
Self-Employed at RD 3/1
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51; RJ 01 |
SELFCM42 |
Self-Employed at RD 4/2
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51; RJ 01 |
SELFCM53 |
Self-Employed at RD 5/3
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51; RJ 01 |
DISVW31X |
Disavowed Health Ins at
R3/1 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 117; RJ07, 08,
08A;
HX and OE Sections |
DISVW42X |
Disavowed Health Ins at
R4/2 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 117; RJ07, 08,
08A;
HX and OE Sections |
DISVW53X |
Disavowed Health Ins at
R5/3 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 117; RJ07, 08,
08A;
HX and OE Sections |
CHOIC31 |
Choice of Health Plans
at Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96,
113-115, 124; RJ08 |
CHOIC42 |
Choice of Health Plans
at Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96,
113-115, 124; RJ08 |
CHOIC53 |
Choice of Health Plans
at Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96,
113-115, 124; RJ08 |
CIND31 |
Condensed Industry Code Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 97-100; RJ01; Constructed |
CIND42 |
Condensed Industry Code
Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 97-100; RJ01;
Constructed |
CIND53 |
Condensed Industry Code
Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 97-100; RJ01;
Constructed |
NUMEMP31 |
Number of Employees at
Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 91-92, 124; RJ01 |
NUMEMP42 |
Number of Employees at
Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 91-92, 124; RJ01 |
NUMEMP53 |
Number of Employees at
Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 91-92, 124; RJ01 |
MORE31 |
Rd 3/1 CMJ Firm Has
More Than One Locat |
EM 1-3, 51, 94; RJ01 |
MORE42 |
Rd 4/2 CMJ Firm Has
More Than One Locat |
EM 1-3, 51, 94; RJ01 |
MORE53 |
Rd 5/3 CMJ Firm Has
More Than One Locat |
EM 1-3, 51, 94; RJ01 |
UNION31 |
Union Status at Rd 3/1
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96, 116;
RJ01 |
UNION42 |
Union Status at Rd 4/2
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96, 116;
RJ01 |
UNION53 |
Union Status at Rd 5/3
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96, 116;
RJ01 |
NWK31 |
Reason Not Working
During Rd 3/1 |
EM 1-3, 101-102,
126-127, 132-133,
138-139, 141, 141OV; RJ10 |
NWK42 |
Reason Not Working
During Rd 4/2 |
EM 1-3, 101-102,
126-127, 132-133,
138-139, 141, 141OV; RJ10 |
NWK53 |
Reason Not Working During Rd 5/3 |
EM 1-3, 101-102, 126-127, 132-133,
138-139,
141, 141OV; RJ10 |
CHGJ3142 |
Changed Job Between Rd
3/1 and Rd 4/2 |
RJ01, 01A |
CHGJ4253 |
Changed Job Between Rd
4/2 and Rd 5/3 |
RJ01, 01A |
YCHJ3142 |
Why Chngd Job Between
Rd 3/1 and Rd 4/2 |
RJ10, 10OV |
YCHJ4253 |
Why Chngd Job Between
Rd 4/2 and Rd 5/3 |
RJ10, 10OV |
STJBMM31 |
Month Started Rd 3/1
CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBDD31 |
Day Started Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBYY31 |
Year Started Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBMM42 |
Month Started Rd 4/2
CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBDD42 |
Day Started Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2; RJ01, 01A |
STJBYY42 |
Year Started Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBMM53 |
Month Started Rd 5/3
CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBDD53 |
Day Started Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
STJBYY53 |
Year Started Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM10, 10OV, 10OV2;
RJ01, 01A |
EVRETIRE |
Person Has Ever Retired |
EM 1-3, 101-102,
126-127, 132-133,
138-139, 141, 141OV; RJ 01, 10 |
COCCP31 |
Condensed Occupation
Code Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM99-100; RJ 01, 01A;
Constructed |
COCCP42 |
Condensed Occupation
Code Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM99-100; RJ 01, 01A;
Constructed |
COCCP53 |
Condensed Occupation
Code Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM99-100; RJ 01, 01A;
Constructed |
PAYVAC31 |
Paid Vacation at Rd 3/1
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 109; RJ 01,
02 |
PAYVAC42 |
Paid Vacation at Rd 4/2
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 109; RJ 01,
02 |
PAYVAC53 |
Paid Vacation at Rd 5/3
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 109; RJ 01,
02 |
SICPAY31 |
Paid Sick Leave at Rd
3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107; RJ 01,
02 |
SICPAY42 |
Paid Sick Leave at Rd
4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107; RJ 01,
02 |
SICPAY53 |
Paid Sick Leave at Rd
5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107; RJ 01,
02 |
PAYDR31 |
Paid Leave to Visit Dr
Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107-108; RJ
01, 02 |
PAYDR42 |
Paid Leave to Visit Dr
Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107-108; RJ
01, 02 |
PAYDR53 |
Paid Leave to Visit Dr
Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 107-108; RJ
01, 02 |
RETPLN31 |
Pension Plan at Rd 3/1
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 110; RJ 01,
02 |
RETPLN42 |
Pension Plan at Rd 4/2
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 110; RJ 01,
02 |
RETPLN53 |
Pension Plan at Rd 5/3
CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 110; RJ 01,
02 |
BSNTY31 |
Sole Prop, Partner,
Corp, Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 94-95; RJ
01, 02 |
BSNTY42 |
Sole Prop, Partner,
Corp, Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 94-95; RJ
01, 02 |
BSNTY53 |
Sole Prop, Partner,
Corp, Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 94-95; RJ
01, 02 |
JOBORG31 |
Priv (Profit/Nonprofit)
Gov Rd 3/1 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96; RJ 01,
02 |
JOBORG42 |
Priv (Profit/Nonprofit)
Gov Rd 4/2 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96; RJ 01,
02 |
JOBORG53 |
Priv (Profit/Nonprofit)
Gov Rd 5/3 CMJ |
EM 1-3, 51, 96; RJ 01,
02 |
HELD31X |
Health Insur Held from
Rd 3/1 CMJ (Ed) |
EM117; HX, HP and OE
Sections |
HELD42X |
Health Insur Held from
Rd 4/2 CMJ (Ed) |
EM117; HX, HP and OE
Sections |
HELD53X |
Health Insur Held from
Rd 5/3 CMJ (Ed) |
EM117; HX, HP and OE
Sections |
OFFER31X |
Health Insur Offered by
Rd 3/1 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 114, 117; RJ and
HX Sections |
OFFER42X |
Health Insur Offered by
Rd 4/2 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 114, 117; RJ and
HX Sections |
OFFER53X |
Health Insur Offered by
Rd 5/3 CMJ (Ed) |
EM113, 114, 117; RJ and
HX Sections |
Return To Table Of Contents
MONTHLY HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE INDICATORS
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
TRImm01X |
Covered By Tricare in
mm 01 (Ed),
where mm = JA-DE |
HX12, 13, PR19-22, HQ
Section,
RE14, 96A, and age at interview date |
MCRmm01 |
Covered By Medicare In
mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX05-07, 27, 29, 29OV |
MCRmm01X |
Covered By Medicare In mm 01 (Ed),
where mm = JA-DE |
HX05-07, 27, 29, 29OV,
see documentation, section 2.5.10 ,
for
additional edit specifications |
MCDmm01 |
Covered By Medicaid or
SCHIP in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX10-11, PR07-10 and HQ
Section |
MCDmm01X |
Covered By Medicaid or
SCHIP in mm 01 (Ed),
where mm = JA-DE |
MCDmm01, HX14-16,
18-19, 41-43, 45, PR11-14, 23-32, 39-42 |
OPAmm01 |
Cov By Other Public A
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX14-15, 41-45, PR
23-32 and
HQ Section |
OPBmm01 |
Cov By Other Public B
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX14-15, 41-43, PR23-30
and
HQ Section |
STAmm01 |
Covered By Other State
Prog in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX16-19, PR35-38 and
HQ
Section |
PUBmm01X |
Covr By Any Public Ins
in mm 01 (Ed),
where mm = JA-DE |
TRmm01X, MCRmm01X,
MCDmm01X, OPAmm01,
OPBmm01 |
PEGmm01 |
Covered By Empl Union
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX2-4, 21-24, 48; HP,
OE, HQ,
EM, RJ Sections |
PDKmm01 |
Covr By Priv Ins (Source Unknwn) mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX21-24, 48, HP, OE, and
HQ Sections |
PNGmm01 |
Covered By Nongroup Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX21-24, 48, HP, OE, and
HQ Sections |
POGmm01 |
Covered By Other Group
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX21-24, 48, HP, OE,
and
HQ Sections |
PRSmm01 |
Covered By Self-Emp-1 Ins in mm 01,
where mm
= JA-DE |
HX3, 4, 48, HQ, OE, RJ and
EM sections |
POUmm01 |
Covered By Holder
Outside Of RU in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HX21-24, 48, HP, OE,
and
HQ Sections |
PRImm01 |
Covered By Private Ins
in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
POGmm01, PDKmm01,
PEGmm01,
PRSmm01, POUmm01, PNGmm01 |
HPEmm01 |
Holder Of Empl Union
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
PEGmm01, HP9, 11 |
HPDmm01 |
Holder Of Priv Ins
(Source Unknwn) mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
PDKmm01; HP11 |
HPNmm01 |
Holder Of Nongroup Ins
in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
PNGmm01; HP11 |
HPOmm01 |
Holder Of Other Group
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
POGmm01; HP11 |
HPSmm01 |
Holder Of Self-Emp-1
Ins in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
PRSmm01; HP9 |
HPRmm01 |
Holder Of Private
Insurance in mm 01,
where mm = JA-DE |
HPEmm01, HPSmm01, HPOmm01,
HPNmm01, HRDmm01 |
INSmm01X |
Covr By Hosp/Med Ins in
mm 01 (Ed) ,
where mm = JA-DE |
PUBmm01X, PRImm01 |
Return To Table Of Contents
SUMMARY HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE INDICATORS
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
PRVEV01 |
Ever Have Private Insurance During 01 |
Constructed |
TRIEV01 |
Ever Have Tricare
During 01 |
Constructed |
MCREV01 |
Ever Have Medicare
During 01 |
Constructed |
MCDEV01 |
Ever Have Medicaid or
SCHIP During 01 |
Constructed |
OPAEV01 |
Ever Have Other Public
A During 01 |
Constructed |
OPBEV01 |
Ever Have Other Public
B During 01 |
Constructed |
UNINS01 |
Uninsured All of 01 |
Constructed |
INSCOV01 |
Health Insurance
Coverage Indicator 01 |
Constructed |
Return To Table Of Contents
MANAGED CARE VARIABLES
MCDHMO31 |
Covered By Medicaid or
SCHIP HMO – R3/1 |
HX10-11, HX14-16,
HX18-19, HX41-43,
HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ Section |
MCDHMO42 |
Covered By Medicaid or
SCHIP HMO – R4/2 |
HX10-11, HX14-16,
HX18-19, HX41-43,
HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ Section |
MCDHMO01 |
Covered By Medicaid or
SCHIP HMO – 12/31/01 |
HX10-11, HX14-16,
HX18-19, HX41-43,
HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ Section |
MCDMC31 |
Cov By Mcaid/SCHIP Gatekeeper Plan-R3/1 |
MCDHMO31, HX10-11, HX14-16, HX18-19,
HX41-43, HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ Section |
MCDMC42 |
Cov By Mcaid/SCHIP
Gatekeeper Plan-R4/2 |
MCDHMO42, HX10-11,
HX14-16, HX18-19,
HX41-43, HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ
Section |
MCDMC01 |
Covered By Mcaid/SCHIP
Gtkeepr Plan-12/31/01 |
MCDHMO01, HX10-11,
HX14-16, HX18-19,
HX41-43, HX45, PR07-10, PR11-14, PR23-32,
PR39-42 and HQ
Section |
PRVHMO31 |
Covered By Private HMO
– R3/1 |
MC01, HX2-4, 21-24,48;
HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVHMO42 |
Covered By Private HMO
– R4/2 |
MC01, HX2-4, 21-24,48;
HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVHMO01 |
Covered By Private HMO
–12/31/01 |
MC01, HX2-4, 21-24,48;
HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVMNC31 |
Covered By Private
Gatekeeper Plan-R3/1 |
MC01-02, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVMNC42 |
Covered By Private Gatekeeper Plan-R4/2 |
MC01-02, HX2-4, 21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM,
and RJ Sections |
PRVMNC01 |
Covered By Priv
Gatekeeper Plan-12/31/01 |
MC01-02, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVDRL31 |
Cov by Priv Plan
w/Doctor List – R3/1 |
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVDRL42 |
Cov by Priv Plan
w/Doctor List – R4/2 |
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PRVDRL01 |
Cov by Priv Plan
w/Doctor List-12/31/01 |
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ,
EM, and RJ Sections |
PHMONP31 |
Cov by HMO-Pays
Non-Plan Dr Visits-R3/1 |
PRVHMO31, HX60A, MC05,
MC01-03,
HX2-4, 21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PHMONP42 |
Cov by HMO-Pays
Non-Plan Dr Visits-R4/2 |
PRVHMO42, HX60A, MC05,
MC01-03,
HX2-4, 21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PHMONP01 |
Cov by HMO-Pays
Non-Plan Drs Vis-12/31/01 |
PRVHMO01, HX60A, MC05,
MC01-03,
HX2-4, 21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PMNCNP31 |
Cov by Gatekpr-Pays Non-Plan Drs-R3/1 |
PRVMNC31, MC04, MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48;
HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PMNCNP42 |
Cov by Gatekpr-Pays
Non-Plan Drs-R4/2 |
PRVMNC42, MC04,
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PMNCNP01 |
Cov by Gatekp-Pays
Non-Plan Drs-12/31/01 |
PRVMNC01, MC04,
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PRDRNP31 |
Cov by Dr List-Pays
Non-Plan Drs-R3/1 |
PRVDRL31, MC04,
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PRDRNP42 |
Cov by Dr List-Pays
Non-Plan Drs-R4/2 |
PRVDRL42, MC04,
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
PRDRNP01 |
Cov by Dr List-Pays
Non-Plan Drs-12/31/01 |
PRVDRL01, MC04,
MC01-03, HX2-4,
21-24,48; HP, OE, HQ, EM,
and RJ Sections |
Return To Table Of Contents
DURATION OF HEALTH INSURANCE VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
PREVCOVR |
Was Person Covered By Ins In Previous Two
Years – Panel 6 Only |
HX64 |
COVRMM |
Month Most Recently
Covered – Panel 6 Only |
HX65 |
COVRYY |
Year Most Recently
Covered – Panel 6 Only |
HX65 |
WASESTB |
Was Prev Ins By Union Or Employer – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASMCARE |
Was Prev Ins By
Medicare – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASMCAID |
Was Prev Ins By
Medicaid/SCHIP – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASCHAMP |
Was Prev Ins By Champus/Champva
– Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASVA |
Was Prev Ins By
VA/Military Care – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASPRIV |
Was Prev Ins By
Group/Assoc/Ins Co – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASOTGOV |
Insurance That Ended
Was Other Govt Prog – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASAFDC |
Was Prev Ins By Public
AFDC– Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASSSI |
Was Prev Ins By SSI
Program – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASSTAT1 |
Was Prev Ins By State
Program 1 – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASSTAT2 |
Was Prev Ins By State
Program 2 – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
WASOTHER |
Was Prev Ins By Some
Other Source – Panel 6 Only |
HX66, HX78 |
NOINSBEF |
Ever Without Health
Insurance In Previous Year – Panel 6 Only |
HX70 |
NOINSTM |
Num Weeks/Months
Without HI In Previous Year – Panel 6 Only |
HX71 |
NOINUNIT |
Unit For Time Without
Health Insurance – Panel 6 Only |
HX71OV |
MORECOVR |
Covered By More
Comprehensive Plan In Previous Two Years – Panel 6 Only |
HX76 |
INSENDMM |
Month Most Recently Covered – Panel 6 Only |
HX77 |
INSENDYY |
Year Most Recently
Covered – Panel 6 Only |
HX77 |
Return To Table Of Contents
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS EXCLUSIONS/DENIAL OF INSURANCE
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
DENYINSR |
Person Ever Denied Insurance – Panel 6 Only |
HX67,HX74,HX79 |
DNYCANC |
Cancer Caused Insurance
Denial – Panel 6 Only |
HX68,HX75,HX80 |
DNYHYPER |
Hypertension Caused
Insurance Denial – Panel 6 Only |
HX68,HX75,HX80 |
DNYDIAB |
Diabetes Caused
Insurance Denial – Panel 6 Only |
HX68,HX75,HX80 |
DNYCORON |
Coronary Artery Disease
Caused Insurance Denial – Panel 6 Only |
HX68,HX75,HX80 |
DENYOTH |
Other Reason Caused
Insurance Denial – Panel 6 Only |
HX68,HX75,HX80 |
INSLOOK |
Person Ever Looked For
Insurance? – Panel 6 Only |
HX69 |
INSLIMIT |
Any Limit/Restrictions
On Insurance – Panel 6 Only |
HX72 |
LMTBACK |
Condition Caused Limit:
Back Problems – Panel 6 Only |
HX73 |
LIMITOT |
Condition Caused Limit:
Other – Panel 6 Only |
HX73 |
Return To Table Of Contents
OTHER HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
TRICR31X |
PID Cov By Tricare ‑ Rd
31 Int (Ed) |
Constructed |
TRICR42X |
PID Cov By Tricare ‑ Rd
42 Int (Ed) |
Constructed |
TRICR53X |
PID Cov By Tricare ‑ Rd
53 Int (Ed) |
Constructed |
TRICR01X |
PID Cov By Tricare ‑
12/31/01 (Ed) |
Constructed |
TRIAT31X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Tricare ‑ Rd 31 |
Constructed |
TRIAT42X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Tricare‑ Rd 42 |
Constructed |
TRIAT53X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Tricare‑ Rd 53 |
Constructed |
TRIAT01X |
At Any Time Cov By
Tricare ‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
MCAID31 |
Cov By Medicaid of
SCHIP ‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
MCAID42 |
Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
MCAID53 |
Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ Rd 53 Int Date |
Constructed |
MCAID01 |
PID Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
MCAID31X |
PID Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ Rd 31 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCAID42X |
PID Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ Rd 42 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCAID53X |
PID Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ Rd 53 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCAID01X |
PID Cov By Medicaid Or
SCHIP ‑ 12/31/01(Ed) |
Constructed |
MCARE31 |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 31 Int Date |
Constructed |
MCARE42 |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 42 Int Date |
Constructed |
MCARE53 |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 53 Int Date |
Constructed |
MCARE01 |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
12/31/01 |
Constructed |
MCARE31X |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 31 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCARE42X |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 42 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCARE53X |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
Rd 53 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCARE01X |
PID Cov By Medicare ‑
12/31/01 (Ed) |
Constructed |
MCDAT31X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Medicaid Or SCHIP ‑ Rd 31 |
Constructed |
MCDAT42X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Medicaid Or SCHIP ‑ Rd 42 |
Constructed |
MCDAT53X |
At Any Time Coverage By
Medicaid Or SCHIP ‑ Rd 53 |
Constructed |
MCDAT01X |
At Any Time Cov By
Medicaid Or SCHIP ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
OTPAAT31 |
Any Time Cov By/Pays Oth Gov Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd
31 |
Constructed |
OTPAAT42 |
Any Time Cov By/Pays
Oth Gov Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 42 |
Constructed |
OTPAAT53 |
Any Time Cov By/Pays
Oth Gov Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 53 |
Constructed |
OTPAAT01 |
Any Time Cov By/Pays
Oth Gov Mcaid HMO ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
OTPBAT31 |
Any Time Cov By Oth Gov
Not Mcaid HMO ‑Rd 31 |
Constructed |
OTPBAT42 |
Any Time Cov By Oth Gov
Not Mcaid HMO ‑Rd 42 |
Constructed |
OTPBAT53 |
Any Time Cov By Oth Gov
Not Mcaid HMO ‑Rd 53 |
Constructed |
OTPBAT01 |
Any Time Cov By Oth Gov
Not Mcaid HMO ‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
OTPUBA31 |
Cov By/Pays Oth Gov
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBA42 |
Cov By/Pays Oth Gov
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBA53 |
Cov By/Pays Oth Gov
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBA01 |
Cov By/Pays Oth Gov
Mcaid HMO ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
OTPUBB31 |
Cov By Oth Gov Not
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBB42 |
Cov By Oth Gov Not
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBB53 |
Cov By Oth Gov Not
Mcaid HMO ‑ Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
OTPUBB01 |
Cov By Oth Gov Not
Mcaid HMO ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIDK31 |
PID Cov By Priv Ins (Dk
Plan)‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
PRIDK42 |
PID Cov By Priv Ins (Dk
Plan) ‑Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
PRIDK53 |
PID Cov By Priv Ins (Dk
Plan) ‑Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
PRIDK01 |
PID Cov By Priv Ins (Dk
Plan) ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIEU31 |
PID Cov By Empl/Union
Grp Ins‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
PRIEU42 |
PID Cov By Empl/Union
Grp Ins‑ Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
PRIEU53 |
PID Cov By Empl/Union
Grp Ins‑ Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
PRIEU01 |
PID Cov By Empl/Union
Grp Ins ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRING31 |
PID Cov By Non‑Group
Ins ‑ Rd 31 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRING42 |
PID Cov By Non‑Group
Ins ‑ Rd 42 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRING53 |
PID Cov By Non‑Group
Ins ‑ Rd 53 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRING01 |
PID Cov By Non‑Group
Ins ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIOG31 |
PID Cov By Other Group
Ins ‑ Rd 31 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIOG42 |
PID Cov By Other Group
Ins‑ Rd 42 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIOG53 |
PID Cov By Other Group
Ins ‑ Rd 53 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIOG01 |
PID Cov By Other Group
Ins ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIS31 |
PID Cov By Self‑Emp‑1
Ins ‑ Rd 31 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIS42 |
PID Cov By Self‑Emp‑1
Ins ‑ Rd 42 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIS53 |
PID Cov By Self‑Emp‑1
Ins ‑ Rd 53 Int Dt |
Constructed |
PRIS01 |
PID Cov By Self‑Emp‑1
Ins ‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIV31 |
PID Has Private Hlth
Ins ‑ Rd 31 Int Date |
Constructed |
PRIV42 |
PID Has Private Hlth
Ins‑ Rd 42 Int Date |
Constructed |
PRIV53 |
PID Has Private Hlth
Ins ‑ Rd 53 Int Date |
Constructed |
PRIV01 |
PID Has Private Hlth
Ins ‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PRIVAT31 |
Any Time Cov By Private
- Rd 31 |
Constructed |
PRIVAT42 |
Any Time Cov By Private
- Rd 42 |
Constructed |
PRIVAT53 |
Any Time Cov By Private
- Rd 53 |
Constructed |
PRIVAT01 |
Any Time Cov By Private
- 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PROUT31 |
PID Cov By Someone Out
Of RU ‑ Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
PROUT42 |
PID Cov By Someone Out
Of RU ‑ Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
PROUT53 |
PID Cov By Someone Out
Of RU ‑ Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
PROUT01 |
PID Cov By Someone Out
Of RU ‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
PUB31X |
PID Cov By Public
Ins‑Rd 31 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
PUB42X |
PID Cov By Public
Ins‑Rd 42 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
PUB53X |
PID Cov By Public
Ins‑Rd 53 Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
PUB01X |
PID Cov By Public Ins ‑
12/31/01 (Ed) |
Constructed |
PUBAT31X |
At Any Time Cov By
Public - Rd 31 |
Constructed |
PUBAT42X |
At Any Time Cov By
Public - Rd 42 |
Constructed |
PUBAT53X |
At Any Time Cov By
Public - Rd 53 |
Constructed |
PUBAT01X |
At Any Time Cov By
Public - 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
INS31X |
PID Is Insured ‑ Rd 31
Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
INS42X |
PID Is Insured ‑ Rd 42
Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
INS53X |
PID Is Insured ‑ Rd 53
Int Date (Ed) |
Constructed |
INS01X |
PID Is Insured ‑
12/31/01 (Ed) |
Constructed |
INSAT31X |
Insured Any Time In
Rd31 |
Constructed |
INSAT42X |
Insured Any Time In
Rd42 |
Constructed |
INSAT53X |
Insured Any Time In
Rd53 |
Constructed |
INSAT01X |
Insured Any Time In Rd3
Until 12/31/01/Rd 5 |
Constructed |
STAPR31 |
PID Cov By
State‑Specific Prog‑Rd 31 Int |
Constructed |
STAPR42 |
PID Cov By
State‑Specific Prog‑Rd 42 Int |
Constructed |
STAPR53 |
PID Cov By
State‑Specific Prog‑Rd 53 Int |
Constructed |
STAPR01 |
PID Cov By
State‑Specific Prog‑12/31/01 |
Constructed |
STPRAT31 |
At Any Time Coverage By
State Ins ‑ Rd 31 |
Constructed |
STPRAT42 |
At Any Time Coverage By
State Ins ‑ Rd 42 |
Constructed |
STPRAT53 |
At Any Time Coverage By
State Ins ‑ Rd 53 |
Constructed |
STPRAT01 |
At Any Time Cov By
State Ins ‑ 12/31/01 |
Constructed |
Return To Table Of Contents
DENTAL AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRIVATE INSURANCE
VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
DENTIN31 |
Dental insurance coverage - R3/1 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE 37 |
DENTIN42 |
Dental insurance
coverage - R4/2 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE
37 |
DENTIN53 |
Dental insurance
coverage - R5/3 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE
37 |
PMEDIN31 |
Prescription drug
insurance - R3/1 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE
37 |
PMEDIN42 |
Prescription drug
insurance - R4/2 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE
37 |
PMEDIN53 |
Prescription drug
insurance - R5/3 |
HX 48, OE 10, OE 24, OE
37 |
Return To Table Of Contents
DISABILITY DAYS VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
DDNWRK31 |
Health Problem Causes Work Loss (R31) |
DD 02 |
DDNWRK42 |
Health Problem Causes Work Loss (R42) |
DD 02 |
DDNWRK53 |
Health Problem Causes Work Loss (R53) |
DD 02 |
WKINBD31 |
½ Or More Of Workloss Day Spent In Bed (R31) |
DD 04 |
WKINBD42 |
½ Or More Of Workloss Day Spent In Bed (R42) |
DD 04 |
WKINBD53 |
½ Or More Of Workloss Day Spent In Bed (R53) |
DD 04 |
DDNSCL31 |
Health Problem Causes School Loss Day (R31) |
DD 05 |
DDNSCL42 |
Health Problem Causes School Loss Day (R42) |
DD 05 |
DDNSCL53 |
Health Problem Causes School Loss Day (R53) |
DD 05 |
SCLNBD31 |
½ Or More Of School Loss Day Spent In Bed
(R31) |
DD 07 |
SCLNBD42 |
½ Or More Of School Loss Day Spent In Bed
(R42) |
DD 07 |
SCLNBD53 |
½ Or More Of School Loss Day Spent In Bed
(R53) |
DD 07 |
DDBDYS31 |
Bed Days Other Than Work Or School Loss Days
(R31) |
DD 08 |
DDBDYS42 |
Bed Days Other Than Work Or School Loss Days
(R42) |
DD 08 |
DDBDYS53 |
Bed Days Other Than Work Or School Loss Days
(R53) |
DD 08 |
OTHDYS31 |
Work Loss Days Because Of Other's Health
(R31) |
DD 10 |
OTHDYS42 |
Work Loss Days Because Of Other's Health
(R42) |
DD 10 |
OTHDYS53 |
Work Loss Days Because Of Other's Health
(R53) |
DD 10 |
OTHNDD31 |
Number Work Loss Days For Other's Health
(R31) |
DD 11 |
OTHNDD42 |
Number Work Loss Days For Other's Health
(R42) |
DD 11 |
OTHNDD53 |
Number Work Loss Days For Other's Health
(R53) |
DD 11 |
Return To Table Of Contents
ACCESS TO CARE VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
ACCELI42 |
Pers Eligible For Access Supplement |
Constructed |
HAVEUS42 |
AC 01 Does Person
Have A USC Provider? |
AC01 |
YNOUSC42 |
AC 03 Main Reason
Pers Doesn't Have A USC |
AC03 |
NOREAS42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
No Other Reasons |
AC04 |
SELDSI42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Seldom Or Nev Sick |
AC04 |
NEWARE42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Recently Moved |
AC04 |
DKWHRU42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Dk Where To Go |
AC04 |
USCNOT42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
USC Not Available |
AC04 |
PERSLA42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Language |
AC04 |
DIFFPLA42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Different Places |
AC04 |
INSRPL42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Just Changed Insur |
AC04 |
MYSELF42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
No Docs/Treat Self |
AC04 |
CARECO42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Cost Of Med Care |
AC04 |
OTHINS42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Ins Related Reason |
AC04 |
OTHREA42 |
AC 04 Oth Reas No USC:
Other Reason |
AC04 |
TYPEPL42 |
USC Type Of Place |
AC06, AC07 |
PROVTY42 |
Provider Type |
PV01, PV03,
PV05, PV10 |
YGOTOU42 |
AC 08 Main Reason
Pers Goes To Hosp USC |
AC08 |
NOREA942 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: No Other Reasons |
AC09 |
LIKESU42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Prefers/Likes |
AC09 |
DKELSE42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Dk Wh Else To Go |
AC09 |
AFFORD42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Can't Afford Oth |
AC09 |
OFFICE42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Dr Office At OPD |
AC09 |
AVAILT42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Avail When Time |
AC09 |
CONVEN42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Convenience |
AC09 |
BSTPLA42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Best For Cond |
AC09 |
INSREA42 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Insurance-Related |
AC09 |
OTHRE942 |
AC 09 Oth Reas Go To
USC: Other Reason |
AC09 |
GETTOU42 |
AC 09a How Does Persn
Get To USC Provider |
AC09A |
TYPEPE42 |
USC Type Of Provider |
AC10, AC11, AC110V,
AC12, AC12OV |
LOCATI42 |
USC Location |
Constructed |
MINORP42 |
AC 14 Go To USC For
New Health Problem |
AC14 |
PREVEN42 |
AC 14 Go To USC For
Preventive Health Care |
AC14 |
REFFRL42 |
AC 14 Go To USC For
Referrals |
AC14 |
OFFHOU42 |
AC 15 USC Has Office
Hrs Nights/Weekends |
AC15 |
APPTWL42 |
AC 16 When See USC,
Have Appt Or Walk In |
AC16 |
APPDIF42 |
AC 17 How Difficult
To Get Appt With USC |
AC17 |
WAITTI42 |
AC 18 With Appt, How
Long Til Seen By USC |
AC18 |
PHONED42 |
AC 19 How Difficult
Contact USC By Phone |
AC19 |
PRLIST42 |
AC 19a Does USC Prov
Listen? |
AC19A |
TREATM42 |
AC 19b Prov Ask About
Other Treatments |
AC19B |
CONFID42 |
AC 19c Confident In
USC Prov's Ability? |
AC19C |
PROVST42 |
AC 19d How Satisfied
With USC Staff |
AC19D |
USCQUA42 |
AC 19e Satisfied With
Quality Of Care |
AC19E |
CHNGUS42 |
AC 20 Has Anyone
Changed USC In Last Year |
AC20 |
YCHNGU42 |
AC 21 Why Did
Person(S) Change USC |
AC21 |
ANYUSC42 |
AC 22 Has Anyone Had
A USC In Last Year |
AC22 |
YNOMOR42 |
AC 23 Why Don't They
Have A USC Anymore? |
AC23 |
NOCARE42 |
AC 24 Did Anyone Go
W/Out Health Care? |
AC24 |
HCNEED42 |
AC 24a Satisfied
Family Can Get Care |
AC24A |
OBTAIN42 |
AC 25 Anyone Have
Difficlty Obtain Care |
AC25 |
MAINPR42 |
AC 25a Main Reason
Experienced Difficulty |
AC25A |
NOOTHP42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: No
Other Problems |
AC26 |
NOAFFO42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Couldn't Afford Care |
AC26 |
INSNOP42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Ins
Company Won't Pay |
AC26 |
PREEXC42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Pre-Existing Condition |
AC26 |
INSRQR42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Ins
Required Referral |
AC26 |
REFUSI42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Dr
Refused Ins Plan |
AC26 |
DISTAN42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Distance |
AC26 |
PUBTRA42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Public Transportation |
AC26 |
EXPENS42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Too
Expen To Get There |
AC26 |
HEARPR42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Hearing Impair/ Loss |
AC26 |
LANGBA42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Language Barrier |
AC26 |
INTOBL42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Hard To Get Into Bldg |
AC26 |
INSIDE42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Hard To Get Around |
AC26 |
EQUIPM42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: No
Appropriate Equip |
AC26 |
OFFWOR42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Couldn't Get Time Off |
AC26 |
DKWHER42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Dk
Where To Go |
AC26 |
REFUSE42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: Was
Refused Services |
AC26 |
CHLDCA42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Couldn't Get Child Care |
AC26 |
NOTIME42 |
AC 26 Difficulty: No
Time/Took Too Long |
AC26 |
OTHRPR42 |
AC 26 Difficulty:
Other |
AC26 |
Return To Table Of Contents
HEALTH STATUS VARIABLES - PUBLIC USE
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
RTHLTH31 |
Perceived Health Status
– RD 3/1 |
CE 1 |
RTHLTH42 |
Perceived Health Status
– RD 4/2 |
CE 1 |
RTHLTH53 |
Perceived Health Status
– RD 5/3 |
CE 1 |
RTPROX31 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Health – RD 3/1 |
CE 1OV |
RTPROX42 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Health – RD 4/2 |
CE 1OV |
RTPROX53 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Health – RD 5/3 |
CE 1OV |
MNHLTH31 |
Perceived Mental Health
Status – RD 3/1 |
CE 2 |
MNHLTH42 |
Perceived Mental Health
Status – RD 4/2 |
CE 2 |
MNHLTH53 |
Perceived Mental Health
Status – RD 5/3 |
CE 2 |
MNPROX31 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Mental Health – RD 3/1 |
CE 2OV |
MNPROX42 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Mental Health – RD 4/2 |
CE 2OV |
MNPROX53 |
Self/Proxy Rating Of
Mental Health – RD 5/3 |
CE 2OV |
IADLHP31 |
IADL Screener – RD 3/1 |
HE 2-4 |
IADLHP42 |
IADL Screener – RD 4/2 |
HE 2-4 |
IADLHP53 |
IADL Screener – RD 5/3 |
HE 2-4 |
ADLHLP31 |
ADL Screener – RD 3/1 |
HE 5-6 |
ADLHLP42 |
ADL Screener – RD 4/2 |
HE 5-6 |
ADLHLP53 |
ADL Screener – RD 5/3 |
HE 5-6 |
AIDHLP31 |
Used Assistive Devices
– RD 3/1 |
HE 7-8 |
AIDHLP53 |
Used Assistive Devices
– RD 5/3 |
HE 7-8 |
WLKLIM31 |
Limitation In Physical
Functioning – RD 3/1 |
HE 9-18 |
WLKLIM53 |
Limitation In Physical
Functioning – RD 5/3 |
HE 9-18 |
LFTDIF31 |
Difficulty Lifting 10
Pounds – RD 3/1 |
HE 11 |
LFTDIF53 |
Difficulty Lifting 10
Pounds – RD 5/3 |
HE 11 |
STPDIF31 |
Difficulty Walking Up
10 Steps – RD 3/1 |
HE 12 |
STPDIF53 |
Difficulty Walking Up
10 Steps – RD 5/3 |
HE 12 |
WLKDIF31 |
Difficulty Walking 3
Blocks – RD 3/1 |
HE 13 |
WLKDIF53 |
Difficulty Walking 3
Blocks – RD 5/3 |
HE 13 |
MILDIF31 |
Difficulty Walking A
Mile – RD 3/1 |
HE 14 |
MILDIF53 |
Difficulty Walking A
Mile – RD 5/3 |
HE 14 |
STNDIF31 |
Difficulty Standing 20
Minutes – RD 3/1 |
HE 15 |
STNDIF53 |
Difficulty Standing 20
Minutes – RD 5/3 |
HE 15 |
BENDIF31 |
Difficulty
Bending/Stooping – RD 3/1 |
HE 16 |
BENDIF53 |
Difficulty
Bending/Stooping – RD 5/3 |
HE 16 |
RCHDIF31 |
Difficulty Reaching
Overhead – RD 3/1 |
HE 17 |
RCHDIF53 |
Difficulty Reaching
Overhead – RD 5/3 |
HE 17 |
FNGRDF31 |
Difficulty Using
Fingers To Grasp – RD 3/1 |
HE 18 |
FNGRDF53 |
Difficulty Using
Fingers To Grasp – RD 5/3 |
HE 18 |
ACTLIM31 |
Any Limitation Work/Housewrk/Schl
– RD 3/1 |
HE 19-20 |
ACTLIM53 |
Any Limitation Work/Housewrk/Schl
– RD 5/3 |
HE 19-20 |
WRKLIM31 |
Work Limitation – RD
3/1 |
HE 20A |
WRKLIM53 |
Work Limitation – RD
5/3 |
HE 20A |
HSELIM31 |
Housework Limitation –
RD 3/1 |
HE 20A |
HSELIM53 |
Housework Limitation –
RD 5/3 |
HE 20A |
SCHLIM31 |
School Limitation – RD
3/1 |
HE 20A |
SCHLIM53 |
School Limitation – RD
5/3 |
HE 20A |
UNABLE31 |
Completely Unable To Do
Activity – RD 3/1 |
HE 21 |
UNABLE53 |
Completely Unable To Do
Activity – RD 5/3 |
HE 21 |
SOCLIM31 |
Social Limitations – RD
3/1 |
HE 22-23 |
SOCLIM53 |
Social Limitations – RD
5/3 |
HE 22-23 |
COGLIM31 |
Cognitive Limitations –
RD 3/1 |
HE 24-25 |
COGLIM53 |
Cognitive Limitations –
RD 5/3 |
HE 24-25 |
WRGLAS42 |
Wears Glasses or
Contacts – RD 4/2 |
HE 26-27 |
SEEDIF42 |
Diffclty Seeing
W/Glasses/Cntcts–RD 4/2 |
HE 28-29 |
BLIND42 |
Person Is Blind – RD
4/2 |
HE 30 |
READNW42 |
Can Read Newsprnt
W/Glasses/Cntcts-RD4/2 |
HE 31 |
RECPEP42 |
Can Recgnze People
W/Glasses/Cntcts-RD4/2 |
HE 32 |
VISION42 |
Vision Impairment
(Summary) – RD 4/2 |
Constructed |
HEARAD42 |
Person Wears Hearing
Aid – RD 4/2 |
HE 33-34 |
HEARDI42 |
Any Difficlty Hearing
W/Hearing Aid–RD4/2 |
HE 35-36 |
DEAF42 |
Person Is Deaf – RD 4/2 |
HE 37 |
HEARMO42 |
Can Hear Most
Conversation – RD 4/2 |
HE 38 |
HEARSM42 |
Can Hear Some
Conversation – RD 4/2 |
HE 39 |
HEARNG42 |
Hearing Impairment
(Summary) – RD 4/2 |
Constructed |
ANYLIM01 |
Any Limitation in
P5R3,4,5/P6R1,2,3 |
Constructed |
LSHLTH42 |
Less Healthy than Othr
Child (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS01_01 |
NEVILL42 |
Never Been Seriously
Ill (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS01_02 |
SICEAS42 |
Child Gets Sick Easily
(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS01_03 |
HLTHLF42 |
Child Will Have Healthy
Life (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS01_04 |
WRHLTH42 |
Worry More about Health
(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS01_05 |
CHPMED42 |
CSHCN: Child Needs
Prescrib Med(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS03 |
CHPMHB42 |
CSHCN: Pmed for Hlth/Behv
Cond (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS03OV1 |
CHPMCN42 |
CSHCN: Pmed Cond Last
12+ Mos (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS03OV2 |
CHSERV42 |
CSHCN: Chld Needs Med&Oth
Serv (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS04 |
CHSRHB42 |
CSHCN: Serv for Hlth/Behav
Cond(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS04OV1 |
CHSRCN42 |
CSHCN: Serv Cond Last
12+ Mos (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS04OV2 |
CHLIMI42 |
CSHCN: Limited in Any
Way (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS05 |
CHLIHB42 |
CSHCN: Limt for Hlth/Behav
Cond(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS05OV1 |
CHLICO42 |
CSHCN: Limit Cond Last
12+ Mos (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS05OV2 |
CHTHER42 |
CSHCN: Chld Needs Spec
Therapy (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS06 |
CHTHHB42 |
CSHCN: Spec Ther for
Hlth+Cond(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS06OV1 |
CHTHCO42 |
CSHCN: Ther Cond Last
12+ Mos (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS06OV2 |
CHCOUN42 |
CSHCN: Child Needs
Counseling (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS07 |
CHEMPB42 |
CSHCN: Couns Prob last
12+ Mos (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS07OV |
CSHCN42 |
CSHCN: Child with
Special Health Care Needs |
Constructed |
MOMPRO42 |
Problem Getting Along
W/Mom (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_01 |
DADPRO42 |
Problem Getting Along
W/Dad (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_02 |
UNHAP42 |
Problem Feeling
Unhappy/Sad (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_03 |
SCHLBH42 |
Problem Behavior At
School (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_04 |
HAVFUN42 |
Problem Having Fun
(5-17) – R4/2 |
CS08_05 |
ADUPRO42 |
Prblm Getting Along
W/Adults (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_06 |
NERVAF42 |
Prblm Feeling
Nervous/Afraid (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_07 |
SIBPRO42 |
Problem Getting Along
W/Sibs (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_08 |
KIDPRO42 |
Prblm Getting Along
W/Kids (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_09 |
SPRPRO42 |
Problem
W/Sports/Hobbies (5-17)–R4/2 |
CS08_10 |
SCHPRO42 |
Problem With Schoolwork
(5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_11 |
HOMEBH42 |
Problem W/Behavior At
Home (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_12 |
TRBLE42 |
Prblm Stay Out Of
Trouble (5-17)-R4/2 |
CS08_13 |
CHRTCR42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Make Rout
Care Apt (0-17)R4/2 |
CS09 |
CHRTWW42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Rout Apt
Whn Wntd (0-17)R4/2 |
CS10 |
CHILCR42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Ill/Inj
Need Care (0-17)R4/2 |
CS11 |
CHILWW42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Ill Care
Whn Wntd (0-17)R4/2 |
CS12 |
CHAPPT42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: # of Off/Clin
Apts (0-17)R4/2 |
CS13 |
CHNECR42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Prob Get
Nec Care (0-17)R4/2 |
CS14 |
CHLIST42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Chld Dr
Lsn to You (0-17)R4/2 |
CS15 |
CHEXPL42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Chld Dr
Expl Thng (0-17)R4/2 |
CS116 |
CHRESP42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Chld’s Dr
Shw Resp(0-17)R4/2 |
CS17 |
CHPRTM42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Child Dr
Engh Time(0-17)R4/2 |
CS18 |
CHHECR42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Rate Chld
Hlt Care (0-17)R4/2 |
CS19 |
CHSPEC42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Chld
Needed Spec (0-17)R4/2 |
CS20 |
CHPRRE42 |
CAHPS:12Mos: Prb W/Rfr
to Spec (0-17)R4/2 |
CS21 |
MESHGT42 |
Doctor Ever Measured
Height (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS22 |
WHNHGT42 |
When Doctor Measured
Height (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS22OV |
MESWGT42 |
Doctor Ever Measured
Weight (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS24 |
WHNWGT42 |
When Doctor Measured
Weight (0-17)-R4/2 |
CS24OV |
CHBMIX42 |
Child's Body Mass Index
(3-17)-R4/2 |
Constructed |
MESVIS42 |
Doctor Checked Child’s
Vision (3-6)-R4/2 |
CS26 |
MESBPR42 |
Dr Checked Blood
Pressure (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS27 |
WHNBPR42 |
When Dr Checked Blood
Press (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS27OV |
DENTAL42 |
Dr Advise Reg Dental
Checkup (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS28 |
WHNDEN42 |
When Dr Advise Dent
Checkup (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS28OV |
EATHLT42 |
Dr Advise Eat Healthy
(2-17)-R4/2 |
CS29 |
WHNEAT42 |
When Dr Advise Eat
Healthy (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS29OV |
PHYSCL42 |
Dr Advise Exercise
(2-17)-R4/2 |
CS30 |
WHNPHY42 |
When Dr Advise Exercise
(2-17)-R4/2 |
CS30OV |
SAFEST42 |
Dr Advise Chld Safety
Seat (Wt<=40)-R4/2 |
CS31 |
WHNSAF42 |
When Dr Advise Safety
Seat (Wt<=40)-R4/2 |
CS31OV |
BOOST42 |
Dr Advise Booster Seat
(40<Wt<=80)-R4/2 |
CS32 |
WHNBST42 |
Whn Dr Advise Booster
Seat(40<Wt<=80)-R4/2 |
CS32OV |
LAPBLT42 |
Dr Advise Lap/Shoulder
Belt (80<Wt)-R4/2 |
CS33 |
WHNLAP42 |
Whn Dr Advise Lap/Shldr
Blt (80<Wt)-R4/2 |
CS33OV |
HELMET42 |
Dr Advise Bike Helmet
(2-17)-R4/2 |
CS34 |
WHNHEL42 |
When Dr Advise Bike
Helmet (2-17)-R4/2 |
CS34OV |
NOSMOK42 |
Dr Advise Smkg in Home
is Bad(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS35 |
WHNSMK42 |
Whn Dr Advis Smkg in
Home Bad(0-17)-R4/2 |
CS35OV |
TIMALN42 |
Doctor Spend Any Time
Alone (12-17)-R4/2 |
CS36 |
DENTCK53 |
How Often Dental
Check-up – RD 5/3 |
AP12 |
CHOLCK53 |
How Lng Cholest Lst
Chck (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP16 |
CHECK53 |
How Lng Lst Routne
Checkup (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP17 |
FLUSHT53 |
How Lng Last Flu Sht
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP18 |
LSTETH53 |
Lost All Uppr And Lowr
Teeth (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP18B |
PSA53 |
How Long Since Last PSA
(>39) – RD 5/3 |
AP19 |
HYSTER53 |
Had A Hysterectomy
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP20A |
PAPSMR53 |
How Lng Lst Pap Smear
Tst (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP20 |
BRSTEX53 |
How Lng Snce Lst Breast
Exam (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP21 |
MAMOGR53 |
How Lng Snce Lst
Mammogram (>29) – RD 5/3 |
AP22 |
STOOL53 |
Bld Stool Tst Kit/Crds
Home (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP23 |
WHENST53 |
Whn Lst Bld Stool Tst
Hme Kit (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP24 |
BOWEL53 |
Sigmoidoscopy/Colonoscopy
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP25 |
WHNBWL53 |
Lst Sigmoidoscop/Colonoscop
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP26 |
PHYACT53 |
Mod/Vig Phys Activ 3X
Wk (>17) – RD 5/3 |
AP28 |
BMINDX53 |
Adult Body Mass Index
(> 17) - Rd 5/3 |
Constructed |
SEATBE53 |
Wears Seat Belt (>15) –
RD 5/3 |
AP32 |
SRTHRT53 |
12MO: Serious Sore
Throat (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01A |
THSYMP53 |
12MO: Sore Thrt/Oth
Symptms(0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01B |
DRTHRT53 |
12MO: See Dr for Sore
Thrt (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01C |
THANTB53 |
12MO: Dr Pres Antbtc
Sre Thrt (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01D |
THSWAB53 |
12MO: Dr Gave Throat
Swab (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01E |
THSYMF53 |
12MO: Fam Same Sre Thrt
Symp (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01F |
THSWBF53 |
12MO: Dr Gave Fam Thrt
Swab (0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01G |
THANTF53 |
12MO: Dr Pres Fam Atbtc
Sr Tht(0-17)-RD 5/3 |
PC01H |
DIABDX53 |
Diabetes Diagnosis – RD
5/3 |
PC02 |
ASTHDX53 |
Asthma Diagnosis – RD
5/3 |
PC04 |
ASATAK53 |
Asthma Attack Last 12
Mos– RD 5/3 |
PC05 |
ASMED53 |
Take Meds For Asthma –
RD 5/3 |
PC06 |
ASSTER53 |
Take Inhaled Steroids
Asthma – RD 5/3 |
PC07 |
ASFLOW53 |
Have Peak Flow Meter At
Home – RD 5/3 |
PC08 |
HIBPDX53 |
High Blood Pressure
Diag (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC09 |
BPMLDX53 |
Mult Diag High Blood
Press (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC10 |
BPCHEK53 |
Time Snce Lst Blood
Pres Chk (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC11 |
BPMONT53 |
# Mos Snce Lst Blood
Pres Chk (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC11OV |
CHDDX53 |
Coronary Hrt Disease
Diag (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC12_01 |
ANGIDX53 |
Angina Diagnosis (>17)
– RD 5/3 |
PC12_02 |
MIDX53 |
Heart Attack (MI) Diag
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC12_03 |
OHRTDX53 |
Other Heart Disease
Diag (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC12_04 |
STRKDX53 |
Stroke Diagnosis (>17)
– RD 5/3 |
PC12_05 |
EMPHDX53 |
Emphysema Diagnosis
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC12_06 |
NOFAT53 |
Restrict HGH Fat/Choles
Food (>17)–RD 5/3 |
PC13_01 |
EXRCIS53 |
Advised to Exercise
More (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC13_02 |
ASPRIN53 |
Tke Aspirn Every (Othr)
Day (>17)–RD 5/3 |
PC15 |
NOASPR53 |
Taking Aspirin Unsafe
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC16 |
STOMCH53 |
Tke Asprn Unsafe B/C
Stomch (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC17 |
JTPAIN53 |
Joint Pain Last 12
Months (>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC18 |
ARTHDX53 |
Arthritis Diagnosis
(>17) – RD 5/3 |
PC19 |
ARTHTX53 |
Arthritis Treatmnt
Currently (>17)RD5/3 |
PC20 |
SVERLANG |
SAQ: Language of
Administration for SAQ |
CAPI derived |
ADPRX42 |
SAQ: Relationship Of
Proxy To Adult |
Constructed |
ADRTCR42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Made Appt
Routine Med Care |
SAQ Q1 |
ADRTWW42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Got Med
Appt When Wanted |
SAQ Q2 |
ADILCR42 |
SAQ 12Mos: Ill/Injury
Needing Immed Care |
SAQ Q3 |
ADILWW42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Got Care
When Needed Ill/Inj |
SAQ Q4 |
ADAPPT42 |
SAQ 12 Mos:# Visits To
Med Off For Care |
SAQ Q5 |
ADNECR42 |
SAQ 12Mos: Probs
Getting Needed Med Care |
SAQ Q6 |
ADLIST42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Doctor
Listened To You |
SAQ Q7 |
ADEXPL42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Doc
Explained So Understood |
SAQ Q8 |
ADRESP42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Dr Showed
Respect |
SAQ Q9 |
ADPRTM42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Dr Spent
Enuf Time With You |
SAQ Q10 |
ADHECR42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Rating Of
Health care |
SAQ Q11 |
ADSMOK42 |
SAQ: Currently Smoke |
SAQ Q12 |
ADDSMK42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Dr Advised
Quit Smoking |
SAQ Q13 |
ADDRBP42 |
SAQ 2 Yrs: Dr Checked
Blood Pressure |
SAQ Q14 |
ADSPEC42 |
SAQ 12 Mos: Needed To
See Specialist |
SAQ Q15 |
ADPRRE42 |
SAQ 12Mos: Problem
Getting Spec Referral |
SAQ Q16 |
ADGENH42 |
SAQ: Health In General
SF-12 |
SAQ Q17 |
ADDAYA42 |
SAQ: Hlth Limits Mod
Activities SF-12 |
SAQ Q18 |
ADCLIM42 |
SAQ: Hlth Limits
Climbing Stairs SF-12 |
SAQ Q19 |
ADPACC42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Did Less B/C
Phys Probs SF-12 |
SAQ Q20 |
ADPLMT42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Limit Wk B/C
Phys Probs SF-12 |
SAQ Q21 |
PCS42 |
SAQ Physical Component
Summary SF-12 Imputed |
SAQ: Q17-28 |
ADMACC42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Did Less B/C
Ment Probs SF-12 |
SAQ Q22 |
ADMLMT42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Lim Wk B/C
Ment Probs SF-12 |
SAQ Q23 |
MCS42 |
SAQ Mental Component Summary SF-12 Imputed |
SAQ Q17-28 |
SFFLAG42 |
SAQ PCS/MCS
Imputation Flag SF-12 |
Constructed |
ADPAIN42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Pain Limits
Normal Work SF-12 |
SAQ Q24 |
ADCALM42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Felt
Calm/Peaceful SF-12 |
SAQ Q25 |
ADPEP42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Had A Lot Of Energy SF-12 |
SAQ Q26 |
ADBLUE42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Felt
Downhearted/Blue SF-12 |
SAQ Q27 |
ADSOCA42 |
SAQ 4 Wks: Hlth Stopped
Soc Activ SF-12 |
SAQ Q28 |
ADMOBI42 |
SAQ Health Today:
Mobility EQ-5D |
SAQ Q29 |
ADSELF42 |
SAQ Health Today:
Self-Care EQ-5D |
SAQ Q30 |
ADACTI42 |
SAQ Health Today: Usual
Activity EQ-5D |
SAQ Q31 |
ADPAYN42 |
SAQ Health Today:
Pain/Discomfort EQ-5D |
SAQ Q32 |
ADDEPR42 |
SAQ Hlth Today:
Anxiety/Depression EQ-5D |
SAQ Q33 |
ADSCAL42 |
SAQ Scale: Health State Today EQ-5D |
SAQ Q34 |
EQU42 |
SAQ Preference Based
Index EQ-5D |
SAQ Q29 – Q33 |
ADINSA42 |
SAQ: Do Not Need Health
Insurance |
SAQ Q35 |
ADINSB42 |
SAQ: Health Insurance
Not Worth Cost |
SAQ Q36 |
ADRISK42 |
SAQ: More Likely To
Take Risks |
SAQ Q37 |
ADOVER42 |
SAQ: Can Overcome Ills
Without Med Help |
SAQ Q38 |
DSDIA53 |
DCS: Diabetes Diagnosis
By Health Prof |
DCS Q1 |
DSA1C53 |
DCS: Times Tested For
A-One-C – 2001 |
DCS Q2 |
DSCKFT53 |
DCS: Times Feet Checked
For Sores – 2001 |
DCS Q3 |
DSEYE53 |
DCS: Last Eye Exam With
Pupils Dilated |
DCS Q4 |
DSKIDN53 |
DCS: Has Diabetes
Caused Kidney Problems |
DCS Q5 |
DSEYPR53 |
DCS: Has Diabetes
Caused Eye Probs |
DCS Q6 |
DSDIET53 |
DCS: Treat Diabetes
W/Diet Modification |
DCS Q7 |
DSMED53 |
DCS: Treat
Diabetes W/Meds By Mouth |
DCS Q8 |
DSINSU53 |
DCS: Treat Diabetes
W/Insulin Injections |
DCS Q9 |
DSPRX53 |
DCS: Was Respondent A
Proxy |
Constructed |
Return To Table Of Contents
WEIGHTS VARIABLES
VARIABLE |
DESCRIPTION |
SOURCE |
PERWT01F |
Expenditure File Person Weight, 2001 |
Constructed |
FAMWT01F |
Expenditure File Family Weight, 2001 |
Constructed |
FAMWT01C |
Expenditure File Family Weight-CPS Family on
12/31/01 |
Constructed |
SAQWT01F |
Expenditure File SAQ Weight, 2001 |
Constructed |
DIABW01F |
Expenditure File Diabetes Care Supplement
Weight, 2001 |
Constructed |
VARSTR01 |
Variance Estimation Stratum-2001 |
Constructed |
VARPSU01 |
Variance Estimation PSU-2001 |
Constructed |
Return To Table Of Contents
Appendix 1: Summary of Utilization and Expenditure Variables by Health Service Category
HEALTH SERVICE CATEGORY |
UTILIZATION VARIABLE(S) |
EXPENDITURE VARIABLE(S)1 |
All Health
Services |
-- |
TOT***01 |
|
Office
Based Visits |
|
|
Total Office Based
Visits (Physician + Non-physician + Unknown) |
OBTOTV01 |
OBV***01 |
Office Based
Visits to Physicians |
OBDRV01 |
OBD***01 |
Office Based
Visits to Non-Physicians |
OBOTHV01 |
OBO***01 |
Office Based
Visits to Chiropractors |
OBCHIR01 |
OBC***01 |
Office Based
Nurse or Nurse Practitioner Visits |
OBNURS01 |
OBN***01 |
Office Based
Visits to Optometrists |
OBOPTO01 |
OBE***01 |
Office Based
Physician Assistant Visits |
OBASST01 |
OBA***01 |
Office Based
Physical or Occupational Therapist Visits |
OBTHER01 |
OBT***01 |
Hospital Outpatient
Visits |
|
|
Total Outpatient
Visits (Physician + Non-physician + Unknown) |
OPTOTV01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
OPF***01 |
SBD Expense |
-- |
OPD***01 |
|
Outpatient
Visits to Physicians |
OPDRV01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
OPV***01 |
SBD Expense |
-- |
OPS***01 |
|
Outpatient
Visits to Non-Physicians |
OPOTHV01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
OPO***01 |
SBD Expense |
-- |
OPP***01 |
HEALTH SERVICE CATEGORY |
UTILIZATION VARIABLE(S) |
EXPENDITURE VARIABLE(S) |
Emergency Room Visits |
|
|
Total Emergency Room
Visits |
ERTOT01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
ERF***01 |
SBD Expense |
-- |
ERD***01 |
Inpatient Hospital
Stays (Including Zero Night Stays) |
Total Inpatient
Stays (Including Zero Night Stays) |
IPDIS01, IPNGTD01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
IPF***01 |
SBD Expense |
-- |
IPD***01 |
|
Zero night
Hospital Stays |
IPZERO01 |
-- |
Facility Expense |
-- |
ZIF***01 |
SBD
Expense |
-- |
ZID***01 |
Dental
Visits |
|
|
Total Dental Visits |
DVTOT01 |
DVT***01 |
General Dental
Visits |
DVGEN01 |
DVG***01 |
Orthodontist
Visits |
DVORTH01 |
DVO***01 |
Home
Health Care |
|
|
Total Home Health
Care |
HHTOTD01 |
-- |
Agency Sponsored |
HHAGD01 |
HHA***01 |
Paid Independent
Providers |
HHINDD01 |
HHN***01 |
Informal |
HHINFD01 |
-- |
Other |
|
|
Vision Aids |
-- |
VIS***01 |
Other Medical Supplies
and Equipment |
-- |
OTH***01 |
Prescription Medicines |
RXTOT01 |
RX***01 |
1 See key at end of table for specific categories for ***.
KEY: To complete variable name, replace *** with
a particular source of payment category as identified in the following table:
Source of Payment
Category |
*** |
Total payments (sum of
all sources) |
EXP |
Out of Pocket |
SLF |
Medicare |
MCR |
Medicaid |
MCD |
Private Insurance |
PRV |
Veteran’s
Administration |
VA |
Tricare |
TRI |
Other Federal Sources |
OFD |
Other State and Local Sources |
STL |
Workers’ Compensation |
WCP |
Other Private |
OPR |
Other Public |
OPU |
Other Unclassified
Sources |
OSR |
|
|
Total charges2 |
TCH |
2 No charge variables on file for prescription medicines.
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