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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 25 sample persons were drawn from the 2019 NHIS while Panel 26 sample persons were drawn from the 2020 NHIS.

The MEPS-HC collects data from a nationally representative sample of households, where a new panel of sample households is selected each year. Historically, each surveyed household was interviewed five times (rounds) over a two-year period, which provides continuous and current estimates of health care expenditures at both the person and household level. However, in the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges to in-person data collection. To offset the decrease in the number of cases for 2020 data, Panels 23 and 24 were extended to nine rounds (four years) of data collection.

The chart below illustrates the timing and relationship between panels, rounds, and calendar years. For example, looking at the data collection by panel, Panel 24 consists of nine rounds of interviews, with Rounds 1-3 providing data for 2019, Rounds 3-5 providing data for 2020, Rounds 5-7 providing data for 2021, and Rounds 7-9 providing data for 2022. Looking at the data collection by year, data for the year 2021 consists of data collected from Rounds 7-9 of Panel 23, Rounds 5-7 of Panel 24, Rounds 3-5 of Panel 25, and Rounds 1-3 of Panel 26.

The chart displays the timing and relationship between panels, rounds, and calendar years.

Each round of MEPS-HC interviews collects information pertaining to a specific time period called a reference period. Using Panel 24 as an example, the reference period for the first interview of Panel 24 began on January 1, 2019, and ended on the date of each reporting unit's Round 1 interview, conducted from January through June 2019. The reference periods for Rounds 2-9 varied from household to household and covered the time between interview dates of the previous round and the current round.

Note that for Panel 23, the reference period for Round 5 ended on December 31, 2019 for all households, because at the time of the Round 5 interviews (conducted in early 2020), COVID-19 had not yet become prevalent in the U.S. After COVID-19 started causing significant disruptions to data collection in the Spring of 2020, Panels 23 and 24 were extended to include nine rounds of interviews (instead of the usual five).

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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