20. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey: A Resource for Sociological Research, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• In Event: 265 - Research Funding Opportunities and Data Resources (part of the Research Support Forum)

Abstract

Sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a vital resource designed to continually provide policymakers, researchers, health care professionals, businesses and others with timely, comprehensive information about the United States population's health, health care utilization, and costs. The MEPS is a continuous on-going nationally representative survey initiated in 1996. MEPS collects data on the specific health care services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of those services and how they are paid, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of private health insurance held by and available to the U. S. civilian non-institutionalized population. MEPS is unparalleled for the degree of detail in its data, as well as its ability to link health status and health care to the demographic, employment, economic, family and other characteristics of survey respondents. In addition, MEPS is the only national survey that provides a foundation for estimating the impact of changes in sources of payment, insurance coverage, and family status on different economic groups or special populations such as the poor, elderly, veterans, the uninsured, and racial and ethnic minorities. These data have been used to examine factors associated with access to health care, estimates of eligibility for federal programs, racial and ethnic disparities in health, and issues related to the quality and satisfaction with health care. The MEPS is useful for monitoring the effects of social policy on population health, healthcare access, utilization, and quality across time and policy relevant subgroups. All MEPS public use data files are available for down-loading free of charge from the MEPS website: www.meps.ahrq.gov.

Authors

• Terceira A. Berdahl, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

• James B. Kirby, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality