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MEPS Home Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
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MEPS-HC Panel Design and Data Collection Process

The Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) is a nationally representative survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. The sampling frame is drawn from respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. For example, Panel 23 sample persons are drawn from the 2017 NHIS while Panel 24 sample persons are drawn from the 2018 NHIS.

The MEPS-HC collects data from a nationally representative sample of households through an overlapping panel design. A new panel of sample households is selected each year, and data for each panel are collected for two calendar years. The two years of data for each panel are collected in five rounds of interviews that take place over a two-and-a-half-year period. This provides continuous and current estimates of health care expenditures at both the person and household level for two panels for each calendar year.

The chart below illustrates the timing and relationship between panels, rounds, and calendar years. For example, looking at the data collection by panel, Panels 22 and 23 consist of five rounds of interviews with Rounds 3-5 and Rounds 1-3 providing data for 2018. Looking at the data collection by year, data for the year 2019 consists of data collected from Rounds 3-5 of Panel 23 and Rounds 1-3 of Panel 24.

The chart displays the timing and relationship between panels, rounds, and calendar years.
              	The data collection by panel: Panel 21 consists of three rounds of interviews in 2017 (Rounds 3-5).
              	Panel 22 consists of five rounds of interviews; with Rounds 1-3 providing data for 2017 and Rounds 3-5 providing data for 2018.
              	Panel 23 consists of five rounds of interviews; with Rounds 1-3 providing data for 2018 and Rounds 3-5 providing data for 2019.
              	Panel 24 consists of three rounds of interviews; with Rounds 1-3 providing data for 2019.
              	The data collection by year:  Year 2017 consists of data collected from Rounds 3-5 of Panel 21 and Rounds 1-3 of Panel 22.
              	The sample size for 2017 was 33,716 persons with a positive weight on the file.
              	Year 2018 consists of data collected from Rounds 3-5 of Panel 22 and Rounds 1-3 of Panel 23.
              	The sample size for 2016 was 29,415 persons with a positive weight on the file.
              	Year 2019 consists of data collected from Rounds 3-5 of Panel 23 and Rounds 1-3 of Panel 24.
              	The sample size for 2019 was 27,648 persons with a positive weight on the file.

Each round of MEPS-HC interviews collects information pertaining to a specific time period called a reference period. Using Panel 23 as an example, the reference period for the first interview of Panel 23 began on January 1, 2018, and ended on the date of each reporting unit's Round 1 interview, conducted from January through June 2018. The reference periods for Rounds 2, 3, and 4 varied from household to household and covered the time between interview dates of the previous round and the current round. The last reference period of Panel 23 (Round 5) ended on December 31, 2019. (December 31st of the second calendar year is always the end of the last reference period.)

MEPS is a large-scale and comprehensive data collection effort that includes many types of survey questions, some of which only pertain to subsets of the diverse respondents participating in the survey. To accommodate the extensive array of questions covered, yet minimize the number of questions asked of each respondent, data are collected using an intricate system of skip patterns and questionnaire modules grouped into sections. Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) using a laptop computer makes it possible to field such a complex data collection instrument.

Since data are collected using CAPI, rather than a hard copy questionnaire, the data collection instrument actually consists of sections that are composed of a series of computer screens containing questions, interviewing instructions, and skip pattern directions, as well as computer programming notes embedded along with each data item. The MEPS data collection in a given round consists of different sections. Some sections are included in every round of data collection. Other sections are only included in one or two rounds?this type of section is also referred to as a supplement.

Any single question must be considered within the context of the skip patterns incorporated into the questionnaire. Some questions appear in several CAPI screens because of the variety of skip patterns that lead to the question. The question is only asked when the skip pattern determines that it should be asked of that respondent. Items asking the same question of various respondents typically map back to a single variable in the database.

Click here to go to the MEPS-HC survey questionnaires. Click here to go to the MEPS-HC Survey Basics.


Suggested Citation:
MEPS-HC Panel Design and Collection Process, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Md. https://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/survey_comp/hc_data_collection.jsp

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