Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a family of surveys intended to provide nationally-representative estimates of health expenditure, utilization, payment sources, health status, and health insurance coverage among the noninstitutionalized, nonmilitary population of the United States. This series of government-produced data sets can be used to examine how individuals interact with the medical care system in the United States. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a family of surveys intended to provide nationally-representative estimates of health expenditure, utilization, payment sources, health status, and health insurance coverage among the noninstitutionalized, nonmilitary population of the United States. This series of government-produced data sets can be used to examine how individuals interact with the medical care system in the United States. MEPS is administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in three components: the core Household Component, the Insurance/Employer Component, and the Medical Provider Component. Only the Household Component is available for download on the Internet. These components provide comprehensive national estimates of health care use and payment by individuals, families, and any other demographic group of interest. MEPS was modeled after the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) and the National Medical Care Utilization and Expenditure Survey (NMCUES), which were conducted in 1977 (NMES-1), 1980 (NMCUES), and 1987 (NMES-2). Each of these surveys was tasked with the goal of providing data on a representative sample of Americans' every interaction with the medical care system. Although the NMES and NMCUES were sampled independently from the U.S. population, each new MEPS sample is drawn from the outgoing National Health Interview Survey panel. MEPS is generally considered the direct descendent of these surveys, and prestigious peer-reviewed journals commonly publish articles that examine trends calculated between MEPS and its predecessors. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey can be used for a wide range of topics related to the U.S. healthcare system, including Access to Care, Children's Health, Chronic Conditions, Health Insurance, Health Disparities, Women's Health, Prescription Drugs, Individuals with Disabilities, and the Elderly. AHRQ continually produces chartbooks, statistical briefs, and fact sheets using MEPS data which shed light on these various facets of how the American healthcare system functions, what patients experience, how they behave, and who pays for the cost of care.