Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Health and Human Services Logo

An official website of the Department of Health & Human Services

menu-iconMore mobile-close-icon
mobile-back-btn-icon Back
  • menu-iconMenu
  • mobile-search-icon
AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Search All AHRQ Sites
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • FAQs
  • Email Updates
MEPS Home Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
Font Size:
Contact MEPS FAQ Site Map  
S
M
L
XL
 

Household Component - Insurance Component Linked Data, 1997
Research File (non-nationally representative data)

May 2003
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
(301) 427-1406


Table of Contents

User Note
A. Data Use Agreement
B. Background Survey Information
1.0 Household Component
2.0 Insurance Component
3.0 Medical Provider Component
4.0 Survey Management
C. Technical and Programming Information
1.0 General Information
2.0 Data File Description
3.0 Imputations in the HC-IC Link File
4.0 Codebook Structure
4.1 Reserved Codes
4.2 Codebook Format
4.3 Variable Naming
5.0 Data File Contents
5.1 Identifiers from the HC
5.2 Identifiers from the IC
5.3 Constructed Flags and Count Variables
5.4 Demographic Variables from the HC
5.5 Job Specific Information from the HC
5.6 Variables from the IC Questionnaires
5.7 Annualized Premium Variables in the Insurance Component
D. Variable -Source Crosswalk

User Note

This documentation describes the second in a series of research files providing linked data from the household and insurance components of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) - the HC-IC Link files. This file contains data from the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey that is being released for research purposes only.

Significant survey non-response, compounded by the multiple stages of the collection process, prevents these data from being used to make nationally representative estimates. There are also respondent confidentiality concerns that could not be addressed in a public use file without significant modifications to the data that would affect data analysis. There is no sampling weight included in this file and users are warned to exercise caution in generalizing their results beyond the sample of persons included in the file.

The data on this file are provided as a MEPS Research File, and as such are intended for sophisticated users who are familiar with the MEPS public use files and have experience analyzing complex survey data. The data file in this release has not been subjected to the same level of quality control as standard MEPS public use tapes. Therefore, the data from these files should be analyzed and interpreted with care.

Return To Table Of Contents

A. Data Use Agreement

Individual identifiers have been removed from the microdata contained in the files on this CD-ROM. Nevertheless, under sections 308 (d) and 903 (c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m and 42 U.S.C. 299 a-1), data collected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and/or the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) may not be used for any purpose other than for the purpose for which they were supplied; any effort to determine the identity of any reported cases, is prohibited by law.

Therefore in accordance with the above referenced Federal statute, it is understood that:

1. No one is to use the data in this data set in any way except for statistical reporting and analysis.

2. If the identity of any person or establishment should be discovered inadvertently, then (a) no use will be made of this knowledge, (b) the Director, Office of Management, AHRQ will be advised of this incident, (c) the information that would identify any individual or establishment will be safeguarded or destroyed, as requested by AHRQ, and (d) no one else will be informed of the discovered identity.

3. No one will attempt to link this data set with individually identifiable records from any data sets other than the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey or the National Health Interview Survey.

By using these data you signify your agreement to comply with the above-stated statutorily based requirements, with the knowledge that deliberately making a false statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the Federal Government violates 18 U.S.C. 1001 and is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 5 years in prison.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality requests that users cite AHRQ and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey as the data source in any publications or research based upon these data.

Return To Table Of Contents 

B. Background Survey Information

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 systems.

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.

Return To Table Of Contents 

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 2½-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, conducted by NCHS. NHIS provides a nationally representative sample of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population, with oversampling of Hispanics and blacks.

Return To Table Of Contents 

2.0 Insurance Component

The MEPS IC is an annual survey that collects data on health insurance plans obtained through 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. Data are collected from the selected organizations through a prescreening telephone interview, a mailed questionnaire, and a telephone follow-up for nonrespondents.

The sample for the 1997 MEPS IC is made up of two parts, the household sample and the list sample. The data included in this file are limited to the household sample but both samples are described here for background purposes. Similar information is collected for each sample although the sources of the samples and their purposes and uses are very different. Because of the similarity in data to be collected the parts are combined for collection purposes only. They are not combined for analytic purposes.

Household Sample

The MEPS IC household sample consists of employers of respondents to the HC and is the basis for the HC-IC Link file. These employers serve as proxy respondents for persons in the HC sample, providing details on health insurance choice and coverage, which are not readily known by employees. Data from the MEPS IC household sample are collected under the authority of AHRQ and NCHS and are linked with other person-level information from the HC survey in order to produce this research file. These data are only available to researchers using the CCFS research data center located in the AHRQ offices in Rockville, Maryland.

List Sample

The list sample is a nationally representative random sample of private-sector establishments and governments. Both of these groups were selected independent of one another and independent of the household sample. Private-sector establishments were selected from the most recent Census Bureau Business Register (a.k.a. the Standard Statistical Establishment List), a list of private-sector establishments maintained by Census. Governments were selected from the 1997 Census of Governments, maintained by the Census Bureau's Governments Division.

The list sample is designed to contain a large enough sample of private-sector establishments and governments to support employee and establishment estimates at the national level and at the state level for 40 States in a given year. Further details concerning strata used, sample and sample allocations can be found in Sommers, (1999).

Tables from the MEPS IC list sample providing both national and State level estimates are available on the MEPS web site.

Return To Table Of Contents 

3.0 Medical Provider Component

The MEPS MPC supplements and validates 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 hospitals, hospital physicians, home health agencies, and pharmacies reported in the HC. Also included in the MPC are all office-based physicians:

  • Providing care for HC respondents receiving Medicaid.

  • Associated with a 75-percent sample of HC households receiving care through an HMO (health maintenance organization) or managed care plan.

  • Associated with a 25-percent sample of the remaining HC households.

Data are collected on medical and financial characteristics of medical and pharmacy events reported by HC respondents, including:

  • Diagnoses coded according to ICD-9-CM (9th Revision, International Classification of Diseases) and DSM-IV (Fourth Edition, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

  • Physician procedure codes classified by CPT-4 (Common Procedure Terminology, Version 4).

  • Inpatient stay codes classified by DRGs (diagnosis-related groups).

  • Prescriptions coded by national drug code (NDC), medication name, strength, and quantity dispensed.

  • Charges, payments, and the reasons for any difference between charges and payments.

The MPC is conducted through telephone interviews and mailed survey materials. MPC data are released in conjunction with the MEPS HC.

Return To Table Of Contents 

4.0 Survey Management

MEPS HC data and MEPS IC household sample 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, MEPS HC survey data are released to the public in staged releases of summary reports and microdata files. Summary reports are released as printed documents and electronic files. Microdata files are released on CD-ROM and/or as electronic files. By contrast, MEPS IC survey data including the HC-IC Link files are not released to the public.

Additional information on MEPS is available from the MEPS project manager or the MEPS public use data manager at:

Center for Cost and Financing Studies
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
E-mail address: MepsPD@ahrq.gov
Telephone number: 301 427-1406

Return To Table Of Contents

 

C. Technical and Programming Information

1.0 General Information

This documentation describes the 1997 Household Component - Insurance Component (HC-IC) linked data file from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The 1997 HC-IC Link file is available as a research file in SAS file format in the CCFS data center. The HC-IC Link files cannot be released as public use files due to:

  • significant survey non-response, compounded by the multiple stages of the collection process, that prevents these data from being used to make nationally representative estimates, and

  • respondent confidentiality concerns that cannot be addressed in a public use file without significant modifications to the data that would affect data analysis.

Although the data in this file cannot support national estimates, they can serve many other research purposes. Nonetheless, AHRQ urges researchers to exercise caution in interpreting the HC-IC link data and generalizing beyond the sample of persons for whom data exists.

The household sample of the MEPS IC is a follow-back survey of employers of persons in Round 1 of the 1997 MEPS HC. The 1997 IC household results and the 1997 Round 1 HC results are linked to provide a data set with important information that cannot be obtained by a survey done solely of households or solely of establishments. For example, employers are able to supply information on plan choice and costs that is not known by jobholders. Information on health insurance premiums, contributions to premiums by employers and employees, employer characteristics, number and types of private insurance plans offered and benefits associated with these plans are collected from the IC household sample establishments and included in this file. Similarly, household respondents have information that is not easily obtainable from an employer, such as detailed demographic characteristics of the jobholder and their household. These data are collected in the MEPS HC and placed on the linked file.

The following documentation offers a brief overview of the types and levels of data provided, the content and structure of the files, and codebook and programming information. It contains the following sections:

  • Data File Description

  • Imputations in the HC-IC Link File

  • Codebook Structure

  • Data File Contents

For more information on MEPS HC survey design see S. Cohen, 1997 and J.Cohen, 1997.

Information on the MEPS IC and copies of the IC instruments are available on the MEPS web site:

  • IC Technical Notes and Survey Documentation
  • IC Questionnaires

Return To Table Of Contents

2.0 Data File Description

The 1997 MEPS IC household sample survey collected health insurance information from establishments identified in Panel 2- Round 1 of the MEPS HC survey as:

  • a person's current main job, or

  • a person's secondary job through which they obtained health insurance.

The HC-IC Link file contains records for those resulting establishment/person pairs where health insurance was offered to employees by the establishment in 1997 and the establishment provided some information about the health insurance plans.

There is no record on the HC-IC Link file for establishment/person pairs where:

  • the household was unable or refused to provide the employer's address,

  • the employer could not be located with the information provided from the household,

  • the employer went out-of-business or closed the establishment before the IC collection date,

  • the employer did not respond to the IC survey,

  • the employer did not offer health insurance at that establishment, or

  • the employer did offer health insurance but did not provide plan-level data.

There are multiple records on the HC-IC Link file for establishment/person pairs where the establishment offered a choice of health insurance plan to its employees and provided data for those plans. The number of plans reported was limited to the four plans with the highest enrollments for private-sector establishments and to three plans for the largest companies that face the heaviest respondent burden. No collection limits were placed on the number of plans reported for State and local governments or the Federal government. There are constructed flags that identify which plan is believed to be the one held by the policyholder (see Section 5.3 for more information.). A person can also have multiple records on this file if they hold more than one job.

In order to present all this information in one flat data file, there is a unique record for every person-establishment-plan combination.

  • Person refers to the policyholder or jobholder.

  • Establishment refers to the source of employment for that person. An establishment can be a private-sector or public-sector employer.

  • Plan refers to each health insurance plan offered by the employer.

Return To Table Of Contents 

3.0 Imputations in the HC-IC Link File

This file contains both original and imputed variables. Variables from the MEPS IC survey whose names begin with the letter 'C' followed by three digits contain "collected" data while variables whose names begin with the letter 'I' followed by three digits contain 'imputed' data. Any differences between these two versions of the same variable are due to imputations. For a more detailed description of the imputation methods used for the core MEPS IC variables in both the household and the list samples see Sommers, 1999. <http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/MEPSDATA/ic/2000/techappendix.htm>

Return To Table Of Contents

4.0 Codebook Structure

For each variable on the file, unweighted frequencies are provided. Weighted frequencies are not provided with this file because there is no sample weight. As stated above this file is available for research purposes only and cannot support nationally representative estimates. The codebook and data file sequence list variables in the following order:

Unique person and establishment id
Identifiers from Household Component (HC)
Unique establishment, government unit and plan identifiers from the Insurance Component (IC)
Constructed variables to aid researchers
Demographic variables from the Household Component (HC)
Employment section variables from the Household Component (HC)
Variables from the Insurance Component instruments (IC)

Return To Table Of Contents 

4.1 Reserved Codes

The following reserved code values are used for HC variables:

VALUE

DEFINITION

-1 INAPPLICABLE

Question was not asked due to skip pattern.

-3 NO DATA IN ROUND

Person has no data in round.

-6 MIXTURE

Both inapplicable cases and not ascertained cases in situations
where they could not be distinguished

-7 REFUSED

Question was asked and respondent refused to answer question.

-8 DK

Question was asked and respondent did not know answer.

-9 NOT ASCERTAINED

Interviewer did not record the data.

Return To Table Of Contents 

4.2 Codebook Format

This codebook describes an ASCII data set and provides the following information for each variable:

IDENTIFIER 

DESCRIPTION

Name

Variable name (maximum of 8 characters)

Description 

Variable descriptor (maximum of 40 characters)

Format 

Number of bytes

Type 

Type of data: numeric (NUM) or character (CHAR)

Start 

Beginning column position of variable in record

End 

Ending column position of variable in record

Return To Table Of Contents 

4.3 Variable Naming

In general, HC variable names reflect the content of the variable with an 8 character limitation. Variables from the IC survey beginning with the letter "C" followed by three digits refer to original collected data. Variables beginning with the letter "I" followed by three digits may contain imputed data.

5.0 Data File Contents

5.1 Identifiers from the HC

In the MEPS HC, the definitions of Dwelling Units (DUs) and Group Quarters 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. The person number (PID) uniquely identifies each person within the dwelling unit. The variable DUPERSID is the combination of the variables DUID and PID.

ESTBIDX is a unique four-digit ID number assigned to places of employment during the household interview. This identifier bears no relation to the establishment identifiers assigned during the Insurance Component survey.

Return To Table Of Contents

5.2 Identifiers from the IC

FEHBP stands for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the variable with this name contains a three-character code that uniquely identifies a specific federal employee health plan. The plan name and other plan identifiers were collected in the HC, but the FEHBP codes were assigned by MEPS staff using that data and information from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. All plan-level data for federal health plans was abstracted from plan booklets available on the OPM website. <http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/brochures/index.asp> Plan options for federal employees were determined at the county level.

MID is a 6 character identifier that was assigned sequentially to identify each private establishment and governmental unit. MID = '006000' identifies the federal government. MPLANT is a 5 character identifier that can be used along with MID to identify subunits of State and local governments. PART_CD is a two character identifier that uniquely identifies each plan within each establishment or governmental unit.

Return To Table Of Contents 

5.3 Constructed Flags and Count Variables

ICSOURCE is a constructed variable in the HC-IC link file which indicates where the IC data were collected. Private employers and State and local governments were surveyed separately within the IC survey. Information on federal health plans for federal jobholders was added later to the file using household reported plan identifiers and plan data obtained from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. MIDPLAN counts the number of plans per establishment. As noted earlier, there is a unique record in this file for every person-establishment-plan combination.

Three variables were constructed to describe the relationship between the person and the health insurance plan during the processing stages of creating this file: PICK, MATCHPLN, and MATCHPLR. These variables are new for 1997 and are in response to survey changes made between 1996 and 1997.

In the 1996 IC survey, a person-level questionnaire was used to ask the employer to identify the plan held by the specific HC person among the plans offered in the establishment. The link between the employee and their health insurance plan was made based on these data. There were significant processing problems and non-response issues with this data collection effort. Using a person-level form required the collection of a permission form from the person, granting the release of personal information from their employer, and distribution of this permission form to the employer as part of the data collection effort. In addition to employee concerns about AHRQ contacting their employers and asking for personal information, the employers also expressed significant reluctance in providing data from individual personnel files, even with signed permission forms from their employees. The large number of person-level forms also significantly increased the response burden for larger companies which, in turn, made them more reluctant to participate in the survey. In 1997, the collection process was changed to reduce respondent burden and collection costs, while hopefully maintaining or improving on the number of linked cases.

The 1997 IC survey dropped the person-level questionnaires and permission forms and opted instead for a name match of plan names from the person and the establishment. The person was asked in the HC survey to provide the name of their insurance plan and the employer from which they obtained their coverage. The employer was then interviewed in the IC survey about health insurance offerings to all employees. No person-level information was available to the IC survey collectors and no person-level information was collected from the employer.

Therefore, the match of the plan held by the HC person with a plan offered by their employer had to be made based on the name of the plan and other plan characteristics such as provider type. While avoiding many of the problems associated with the 1996 matching, there were still data collection issues that contributed to non-response. Among these were non-unique plan names and limited or missing plan information from either the person or the establishment or both.

While more details of this matching process will be provided in a separate document, the process consisted of three basic steps:

  • Step 1 - Automated, computerized matching of plan names based on HC and IC variable character strings.

  • Step 2 - Manual matching of plan names by MEPS staff based on text and other variables.

  • Step 3 - Random matching to one of the equally probable choices remaining.

PICK indicates the results of the automated process for matching plan names (Step 1) and provides details about the status of the match at that stage. MATCHPLN indicates the results of the matching after MEPS staff individually reviewed cases not matched by the automated process (Step 2) to determine if additional matches could reasonably be made. In some cases, a unique employer plan could not be matched to the person. In those cases, all of the equally possible plan matches were assigned a value MATCHPLN=2. MATCHPLR takes matching one step further (Step 3); by randomly selecting one of those plans for those cases where MATCHPLN=2. All policyholders are matched to a plan at this point.

For persons whose employer reported a choice of health insurance plans, the person-level and establishment-level data are repeated on each record while health insurance plan information is contained in the plan level variables, with each record reporting data on a different plan. If a person is not enrolled in any plan through a specific establishment, a value indicating that health insurance is not taken from that establishment is entered for PICK, MATCHPLN, and MATCHPLR for each plan record for the person-establishment pair. Examples are given below:

PERSID

MID + MPLANT

PART_CD

MATCHPLN

MATCHPLR

Person A

Employer 1

Health plan 1

1=unique match

1=unique match

Person B

Employer 1

Health plan 1

0=HI not taken fr job

0=HI not taken fr job

Person B

Employer 2

Health plan 1

1=unique match

1=unique match

Person C

Employer 3

Health plan 1

3=not matched

2=not matched

Person C

Employer 3

Health plan 2

1=unique match

1=unique match

Person C

Employer 3

Health plan 3

3=not matched

2=not matched

Person D

Employer 4

Health plan 1

2=mult. possbl mtchs

1=unique match

Person D

Employer 4

Health plan 2

2=mult. possbl mtchs

2=not matched

Person E

Employer 5

Health plan 1

3=not matched

2=not matched

Person E

Employer 5

Health plan 2

2=mult. possbl mtchs

1=unique match

Person E

Employer 5

Health plan 3

2=mult. possbl mtchs

2=not matched

The next three variables were constructed based on data from the HC. ENROLLED indicates whether the person is enrolled in a health insurance plan (not necessarily the plan on the record) through that establishment. OFFERED indicates whether the person was offered health insurance through the establishment. JOBSTAT identifies whether the job status of the person is as an active or former employee. Retirees are excluded from this file because retiree plans are not collected in the IC survey.

SINGFAM is defined for cases where MATCHPLR=1 (a unique match) to persons who held health insurance. SINGFAM indicates whether the plan held was a single or family policy. SINGFAM was determined by the number of dependents linked to the policyholder in the household reported data or whether the plan covered a person outside of the household reporting unit.

Return To Table Of Contents 

5.4 Demographic Variables from the HC

Age as of Round 1, race/ethnicity, and sex are added to this file for the convenience of researchers. This information was collected in the household interview.

5.5 Job Specific Information from the HC

In addition to the demographic variables, information from the HC employment section was also appended to the file. Job specific information was linked at the person-establishment level. JOBSINFO indicates whether there was a valid link to the employment section file. Other HC job-related variables provide data on whether the person was self-employed or worked for someone else, an estimate of the total number of employees where the jobholder works, whether there was more than one location of the jobholder's firm, and other job-related benefits.

Return To Table Of Contents

5.6 Variables from the IC Questionnaires

The last and largest set of variables on this file is the variables collected from establishments during the IC survey. The IC survey uses 10 different questionnaires and a computer-based telephone follow-up collection instrument in its collection process. All of the IC questionnaires are available for downloading from the MEPS web site. The questionnaires vary due to the type of establishment receiving the questionnaire (private-sector establishment, large firm with multiple establishments, governmental agencies, large governments) and the type of data being collected (establishment data, plan data). The questionnaires for different types and sizes of establishments have many of the same questions, but with slight wording variations and different question numbers due to their location on the forms. For this reason, each question is assigned a keycode (a 3-digit code that appears on the forms in small print next to each question, box or check-off) that remains consistent across all survey questionnaires. This keycode is used in construction of the variables on the data base.

For example, the first question in the MEPS-10 questionnaire (administered to establishments), asks whether the establishment provided health insurance to its employees in 1997. The question is identified on the questionnaire with two numbers. The questionnaire number (A1a) guides the respondent through the instrument. Next to the response box for question A1a is the keycode 001 which corresponds to the variable name used in the data file; thus the variable named C001 indicates whether the establishment offered health insurance to its employees. The "C" stands for collected data (as opposed to imputed data) and the 001 indicates the keycode.

Variables are positioned on the file in numeric order even when item numbers do not always follow consecutively through the instrument. Descriptive labels have been added to the variables in order to make the file easier to use. In addition, a crosswalk table is provided below that indicates the item number on the IC questionnaire(s) corresponding to each variable. Some variables are not found in the questionnaires because they were collected during telephone follow-up.

Return To Table Of Contents 

5.7 Annualized Premium Variables in the Insurance Component

For a typical employee, C130, C131, and C132 contain the total single premium and contributions while C134, C135, and C136 contain the total family premium and contributions for a family of four. Imputed versions of these six variables follow the collected versions and are named I130, I131, I132, I134, I135, and I136. The premium values in all twelve of these variables have already been annualized. C133 contains the periodicity of premiums as originally reported.

Return To Table Of Contents 

D. 1997 Variable - Source Crosswalk to IC Questionnaires

 

 

QUESTIONNAIRE

 

 

10

11

11C

12

15

10
(S)

11
(S)

12
(S)

11C
(S)

15
(S)

C001

ESTABLISHMENT PROVIDES H.I. TO EMPLOYEES

A1a

A1a

A1a

A1a

A2a

 

 

 

 

 

C003

NUMBER OF H.I. PLANS OFFERED

A1b

A1b

A1b

A1b

A2b

 

 

 

 

 

C016

% EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS - WOMEN

D4a

D4a

D4a

D2a

B5a

 

 

 

 

 

C017

% EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS - AGE 50+

D4b

D4b

D4b

D2b

B5b

 

 

 

 

 

C018

% EMPLOYEES WHO WERE UNION MEMBERS

D4c

D4c

D4c

 

B5c

 

 

 

 

 

C022

% EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS EARN $6.50/HR OR LESS

D4d

D4d

D4d

D2c

B5d

 

 

 

 

 

C023

% EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS EARN $6.50-$15/HR

D4d

D4d

D4d

D2c

B5d

 

 

 

 

 

C024

% EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS EARN $15/HR OR MORE

D4d

D4d

D4d

D2c

B5d

 

 

 

 

 

C031

HEALTH INSURANCE OFFERED LAST FIVE YEARS

F1a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C032

LAST YEAR HEALTH INSURANCE OFFERED

F1b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C034

TOTAL EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS IN ALL LOCATIONS

E7

 

 

D4

B1a

 

 

 

 

 

C041

NUMBER OF HOURS CONSIDERED FULL-TIME

D5

D5

D5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C045

VOUCHER PROVIDED FOR INSURANCE PURCHASE

F3a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C046

VOUCHER FOR INSURANCE ONLY/OTHER PURPOSE

F3b

F3b

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C047

AVERAGE VALUE OF VOUCHER PER EMPLOYEE

F3c

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C048

VOUCHER PAYMENT CYCLE

F3d

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C049

BUSINESS PAID PROVIDERS DIRECTLY

F2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C050

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS PAID VACATION

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C051

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS PAID SICK LEAVE

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C052

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS LIFE INSURANCE

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C053

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS DISABILITY INSURANCE

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C054

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS PENSION PLAN

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C055

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCTS

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C056

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS FLEXIBLE SPEND ACCTS

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C057

ESTABLISHMENT OFFERS CAFETERIA PLAN

E1a

D6

D6

D3a

E2a

 

 

 

 

 

C058

AVERAGE ANNUAL VALUE CAFETERIA PLAN

E1b

D6

D6

D3b

E2b

 

 

 

 

 

C060

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS ACTIVITY

E4

 

 

 

E6

 

 

 

 

 

C062

TYPE OF OWNERSHIP

E2

 

 

 

E5

 

 

 

 

 

C063

NON-PROFIT BUSINESS

E3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C064

NUMBER OF YEARS COMPANY IN BUSINESS

E6

 

 

 

E3

 

 

 

 

 

C099

PREMIUMS VARIATION: OTHER SPECIFY

B11a

B10a

B7a

B9a

 

B11a

B10a

B9a

B7a

10a

C103

PROVIDER TYPE: EXCLUSIVE / ALL / MIXTURE

B2

B2

 

B2

 

B2

B2

B2

 

1

C104

REFERRAL REQUIRED TO SEE SPECIALISTS

B3

B3

 

B3

 

B3

B3

B3

 

3

C105

INDEMNIFICATION: PURCHASED/SELF-INSURED

B4

B4

B2

B4

 

B4

B4

B4

B2

4

C106

SI PLAN: SELF-ADMINISTERED OR TPA

B6a

B5a

B3a

B5a

 

B6a

B5a

B5a

B3a

5a

C107

SI PLAN: PURCHASE STOP-LOSS COVERAGE

B6b

B5b

B3b

B5b

 

B6b

B5b

B5b

B3b

5b

C108

TOTAL COST OF COVERAGE

B6c

B5c

 

B5c

 

B6c

B5c

B5c

 

5c

C109

MONTHLY PREM EQUIVALENT - SINGLE COVERAGE

B6d

B5d

 

B5d

 

B6d

B5d

B5d

 

5d

C110

MONTHLY PREM EQUIVALENT - FAMILY COVERAGE

B6e

B5e

 

B5e

 

B6e

B5e

B5e

 

5e

C111

AMOUNT: PREMIUM EQUIVALENT OR COBRA

B6f

B5f

 

 

 

B6f

B5f

 

 

5f

C112

PURCHASED THROUGH A POOLING ARRANGEMENT

B5

 

 

 

B5

 

 

 

 

C113

OPERATED BY: UNION/TRADE ASSOC./NEITHER

B7

B6

 

 

 

B7

B6

 

 

6

C122

OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTION TOWARD PREMIUM

B11c

B10c

 

B9c

 

B11c

B10c

B9c

 

10c

C123

MONTH PLAN YEAR BEGIN

B20

B19

B10

B18

 

B20

B19

B18

B10

19

C124

FED ONLY: TOTAL # ENROLLEES IN PLAN - STATE

 

 

 

 

C124TOT

FED ONLY: TOTAL # ENROLLEES IN PLAN - USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C125

TOTAL ACTIVE EMPLOYEES/MEMBERS ENROLLED

B8a

B7a

B4a

B6a

 

B8a

B7a

B6a

B4a

7a

C125TOT

FED ONLY: TOT. ACT. EMPLS ENROLLED - USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C127

FED ONLY: TOT. # RETIREES ENROLLED - STATE

 

 

 

C127TOT

FED ONLY: TOT. # RETIREES ENROLLED - USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C128

FED ONLY: TOT. # RET 65+ ENROLLED - STATE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C128TOT

FED ONLY: TOT. # RET 65+ ENROLLED - USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C129

TOTAL ENROLLEES WITH SINGLE COVERAGE

B8b

B7b

B4b

B6b

 

B8b

B7b

B6b

B4b

7b

C129TOT

FED ONLY: TOT ENROLLED-SINGLE COV.-USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C130

TOTAL PREMIUM: SINGLE COVERAGE

B9c

B8c

B5c

B7c

 

B9c

B8c

B7c

B5c

8c

C131

EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION: SINGLE COVERAGE

B9a

B8a

B5a

B7a

 

B9a

B8a

B7a

B5a

8a

C132

EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION: SINGLE COVERAGE

B9b

B8b

B5b

B7b

 

B9b

B8b

B7b

B5b

8b

C133

PREMIUM PERIOD : TOTAL PREMIUM

B9d

B8d

B5d

B7d

 

B9d

B8d

B7d

B5d

8d

C134

TOTAL PREMIUM : FAMILY COVERAGE

B10d

B9d

B6d

B8d

 

B10d

B9d

B8d

B6d

9d

C135

EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION: FAMILY COVERAGE

B10b

B9b

B6b

B8b

 

B10b

B9b

B8b

B6b

9b

C136

EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION: FAMILY COVERAGE

B10c

B9c

B6c

B8c

 

B10c

B9c

B8c

B6c

9c

C137

FAMILY COVERAGE OFFERED

B10a

B9a

B6a

B8a

 

B10a

B9a

B8a

B6a

9a

C138

PREMIUMS VARIED BY AGE

B11a

B10a

B7a

B9a

 

B11a

B10a

B9a

B7a

10a

C139

PREMIUMS VARIED BY SEX

B11a

B10a

B7a

B9a

 

B11a

B10a

B9a

B7a

10a

C140

PREMIUMS VARIED BY # PERSONS IN FAMILY

B11a

B10a

B7a

B9a

 

B11a

B10a

B9a

B7a

10a

C141

PREMIUMS VARIED BY WAGE LEVELS

B11a

B10a

B7a

 

 

B11a

B10a

 

B7a

10a

C142

PREMIUMS VARIED BY OTHER REASON (SPECIFY)

B11a

B10a

B7a

B9a

 

B11a

B10a

B9a

B7a

10a

C143

EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION VARIED BY STATUS

B11b

B10b

B7b

B9b

 

B11b

B10b

B9b

B7b

10b

C144

PREMIUM INCLUDED LIFE INSURANCE

B12

B11

 

B10

 

B12

B11

B10

 

11

C145

PREMIUM INCLUDED DISABILITY INSURANCE

B12

B11

 

B10

 

B12

B11

B10

 

11

C146

TOTAL ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLE: INDIVIDUAL

B13b

B12b

 

B11b

 

B13b

B12b

B11b

 

12b

C147

DEDUCTIBLE - PHYSICIAN CARE

B13b

B12b

 

B11b

 

B13b

B12b

B11b

 

12b

C148

DEDUCTIBLE - HOSPITAL CARE

B13b

B12b

 

B11b

 

B13b

B12b

B11b

 

12b

C149

TOTAL ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLE: FAMILY

B14c

B13c

 

B12c

 

B14c

B13c

B12c

 

13c

C150

# OF PERSONS TO MEET FAMILY DEDUCTIBLE

B14b

B13b

 

B12b

 

B14b

B13b

B12b

 

13b

C151

PLAN HAS A DEDUCTIBLE

B13a

B12a

 

B11a

 

B13a

B12a

B11a

 

12a

C152

HOSPITAL STAY COST: AFTER DEDUCTIBLE MET

B15b

B14b

 

B13b

 

B15b

B14b

B13b

 

14b

C153

HOSPITAL STAY %: AFTER DEDUCTIBLE MET

B15b

B14b

 

B13b

 

B15b

B14b

B13b

 

14b

C154

COST PER DAY / PER STAY

B15b

B14b

 

B13b

 

B15b

B14b

B13b

 

14b

C155

HOSPITAL CARE COVERED

B15a

B14a

 

B13a

 

B15a

B14a

B13a

 

14a

C156

PHYSICIAN VISIT COST: AFTER DEDUCTIBLE

B15d

B14d

 

B13d

 

B15d

B14d

B13d

 

14d

C157

PHYSICIAN VISIT %: AFTER DEDUCTIBLE

B15d

B14d

 

B13d

 

B15d

B14d

B13d

 

14d

C158

NO MAXIMUM PLAN PAYMENT

B16a

B15a

 

B14a

 

B16a

B15a

B14a

 

15a

C159

MAXIMUM AMOUNT PLAN PAYS IN A LIFETIME

B16a

B15a

 

B14a

 

B16a

B15a

B14a

 

15a

C160

MAXIMUM AMOUNT PLAN PAYS IN ANNUALLY

B16b

B15b

 

B14b

 

B16b

B15b

B14b

 

15b

C161

MAXIMUM ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET: INDIVIDUAL

B17a

B16a

 

B15a

 

B17a

B16a

B15a

 

16a

C162

MAXIMUM ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET: FAMILY

B17b

B16b

 

B16b

 

B17b

B16b

B15b

 

16b

C163

NO MAXIMUM ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET AMOUNT

B17a

B16a

 

B15a

 

B17a

B16a

B15a

 

16a

C164

PLAN INCLUDES ROUTINE MAMMOGRAMS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C165

PLAN INCLUDES ADULT ROUTINE PHYSICALS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C166

PLAN INCLUDES ROUTINE PAP SMEARS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C167

PLAN INCLUDES OFFICE VISITS PRENATAL CARE

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C168

PLAN INCLUDES ADULT IMMUNIZATIONS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C169

PLAN INCLUDES CHILD IMMUNIZATIONS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C170

PLAN INCLUDES WELL-BABY CARE, UNDER 1YEAR

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C171

PLAN INCLUDES WELL-CHILD CARE, 1-4 YEARS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C173

PLAN INCLUDES CHIROPRACTIC CARE

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C174

PLAN INCLUDES OTHER NON-PHYSICIAN PROVIDERS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C175

PLAN INCLUDES OUTPATIENT PRESCRIPTIONS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C176

PLAN INCLUDES ROUTINE DENTAL CARE

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C177

PLAN INCLUDES ORTHODONTIC CARE

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C178

PLAN INCLUDES SKILLED NURSING FACILITY

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C179

PLAN INCLUDES HOME HEALTH CARE

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C180

PLAN INCLUDES INPATIENT MENTAL ILLNESS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C181

PLAN INCLUDES OUTPATIENT MENTAL ILLNESS

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C182

PLAN INCL. ALCOHOL/SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREAT

B21

B20

 

B19

 

B21

B20

B19

 

20

C183

COULD REFUSE COVERAGE: PRE-EXISTING COND

B18a

B17a

B8a

B16a

 

B18a

B17a

B16a

B8a

17a

C184

PRE-EXISTING CONDITION REFUSED IN REF. YEAR

B18b

B17b

B8b

B16b

 

B18b

B17b

B16b

B8b

17b

C185

WAITING PERIOD FOR PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

B19

B18

B9

B17

 

B19

B18

B17

B9

18

C186

PLAN OFFERED IN CURRENT YEAR (1998)

B22a

B21a

B11a

B20a

 

B22a

B21a

B20a

B11a

21a

C187

PLAN WAS REPLACED SIM/DIFF/DROPPED (1998)

B22b

B21b

B11b

B20b

 

B22b

B21b

B20b

B11b

21b

C188

1998 PLAN-TOTAL SINGLE ENROLLMENT

B22c

B21c

B11c

B20c

 

B22c

B21c

B20c

B11c

21c

C189

1998 PLAN-TOTAL FAMILY ENROLLMENT

B22d

B21d

B11d

B20d

 

B22d

B21d

B20d

B11d

21d

C190

1998 PLAN PREMIUM - SINGLE COVERAGE

B22e

B21e

B11e

B20e

 

B22e

B21e

B20e

B11e

21e

C191

1998 PLAN PREMIUM - FAMILY COVERAGE

B22f

B21f

B11f

B20f

 

B22f

B21f

B20f

B11f

21f

C192

OFFERED OPTIONAL COVERAGE DENTAL

C9a

C9a

 

C9a

D1a

 

 

 

 

 

C193

OFFERED OPTIONAL COVERAGE VISION

C9a

C9a

 

C9a

D1a

 

 

 

 

 

C194

OFFERED OPTIONAL COVERAGE PRESCRIP DRUG

C9a

C9a

 

C9a

D1a

 

 

 

 

 

C195

OFFERED OPTIONAL COVERAGE LONG-TERM CARE

C9a

C9a

 

C9a

D1a

 

 

 

 

 

C196

TOTAL AMT PAID OPTIONAL COVERAGE 1997

C9b

C9b

 

C9b

D1b

 

 

 

 

 

C197

WAITING PERIOD FOR NEW EMPLOYEES

C2a

C2a

 

C2a

E4a

 

 

 

 

 

C198

LENGTH OF TYPICAL WAITING PERIOD

C2b

C2b

 

C2b

E4b

 

 

 

 

 

C199

TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF COVERAGE: ALL PLANS

C1

C1

C1

C1

A3

 

 

 

 

 

C200

TOTAL NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THIS LOCATION

D1a

D1a

D1a

D1a

*

 

 

 

 

 

C201

TOTAL EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE FOR HEALTH INS.

D1b

D1b

D1b

D1b

B1b

 

 

 

 

 

C202

TOTAL EMPLOYEES ENROLLED IN HEALTH INS.

D1c

D1c

D1c

D1c

B1c

 

 

 

 

 

C203

TOTAL PART-TIME EMPLOYEES THIS LOCATION

D2a

D2a

D2a

 

B2a

 

 

 

 

 

C204

TOTAL PART-TIME EMPLOYEES ELIGIBLE HLTH INS.

D2b

D2b

D2b

 

B2b

 

 

 

 

 

C205

TOTAL PART-TIME EMPLOYEES ENROLLED HLTH INS

D2c

D2c

D2c

 

B2c

 

 

 

 

 

C206

TOTAL TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES THIS LOCATION

D3a

D3a

D3a

 

B3a

 

 

 

 

 

C207

TOTAL TEMP EMPL. ELIGIBLE FOR HEALTH INS.

D3b

D3b

D3b

 

B3b

 

 

 

 

 

C208

TOTAL TEMP EMPL. ENROLLED IN HEALTH INS.

D3c

D3c

D3c

 

B3c

 

 

 

 

 

C209

RETIREES LT 65 ELIGIBLE HEALTH INS

C4a

C4a

C3a

C4a

C2a

 

 

 

 

 

C210

RETIREES 65+ ELIGIBLE HEALTH INS

C4b

C4b

C3b

C4b

C2b

 

 

 

 

 

C219

RETIREES ELIGIBLE HEALTH INSURANCE

C3

C3

C2

C3

C1

 

 

 

 

 

C194

OFFERED OPTIONAL COVERAGE PRESCRIP DRUG

C9a

C9a

 

C9a

D1a

 

 

 

 

 

* - Number prorated from company total and percentage identified at this location

Return To Table Of Contents

Return to the MEPS Homepage


MEPS HOME . CONTACT MEPS . MEPS FAQ . MEPS SITE MAP . MEPS PRIVACY POLICY . ACCESSIBILITY . VIEWERS & PLAYERS . COPYRIGHT
Back to topGo back to top
Back to Top Go back to top

Connect With Us

Facebook Twitter You Tube LinkedIn

Sign up for Email Updates

To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your email address below.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Telephone: (301) 427-1364

  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Español
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimers
  • EEO
  • Electronic Policies
  • FOIA
  • HHS Digital Strategy
  • HHS Nondiscrimination Notice
  • Inspector General
  • Plain Writing Act
  • Privacy Policy
  • Viewers & Players
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • The White House
  • USA.gov