Abstract:
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The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is designed to provide nationally representative annual estimates of healthcare use, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Since 1996, many sample design changes have been implemented due to cost and policy considerations. These changes were implemented in concert with additional content to improve the capacity for healthcare quality measurement in MEPS and to increase our ability to conduct analyses of persons with chronic conditions. Based on data from the 1996 to 1999 MEPS, this paper will evaluate and contrast the design effects achieved over time for national estimates of healthcare utilization, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage; the level of design effect variation in related survey estimates; and design effect variation by alternative population subgroups and by different geographic regions of the nation. The results will help improve the sample design specifications for the selection of future new sample panels of households for the annual MEPS.
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