The MEPS 2005 Full Year Consolidated data file, documentation and codebook files are now available to Penn State Researchers in SodaPop and PopNet.

MEPS has announced an Errata for all data housed at PRI.

The variable FOODCT04 should not be used because it is based on an invalid question in the survey instrument. This question asks “About how much did the family pay each month for food stamps?” when in fact, as of 1979, the food stamp program no longer maintained a purchase requirement. All responses are considered invalid.

High-deductible health insurance plans are more costly for women, because women need more routine medical exams, according to a new study using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. (Washington Post)

The PRI Library has received an announcement from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for a two-day hands-on Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Data User Workshop.

New reports from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS):

• Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Plans That Required No Employee Contribution to the Premium Cost, 1998-2004 (Statistical Brief #155)
• Dental Expenditures in the 10 Largest States, 2004 (Statistical Brief #156)
• Regional Differences in Total and Out-of-Pocket Expenditures for Selected Types of Office-Based Visits, 2004 (Statistical Brief #157)
• Prescription Drug Expenditures in the 10 Largest States for Persons under Age 65, 2004 (Statistical Brief #158)
• Out-of-Pocket Expenditures on Health Care among the Nonelderly Population, 2004 (Statistical Brief #159)
• A Comparison of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Characteristics for the Private Sector for the Years 2001 and 2004, by Average Payroll (Statistical Brief #160)
• Attitudes toward Health Insurance and Their Persistence over Time, Adults 2003-2004 (Statistical Brief #161)
• Additional Imputations of Employer Information for the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey since 1996 (Methodology Report #17)
• Updates to the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component List Sample Design, 2004 (Methodology Report #18)

The MEPS 2004 Full Year Consolidated data file, documentation and codebook files have been updated and are now available to Penn State Researchers in SodaPop and PopNet. These files reflect the revisions in the family weight variables FAMWT04F and FAMWT04C.

The newly released MEPS 2004 Full Year Consolidated Data and documentation is now available in PopNet Unix and the PRI MEPS SodaPop Collection.

Comparing Federal Government Surveys that Count Uninsured People in America (PDF), a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, compares data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), and Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Despite their differences, all of these surveys show large and increasing numbers of uninsured Americans.

MEPS has released (select 2005 from the pull down menu) 2005 Population Characteristics and Projected Data.

The newly acquired MEPS 2004 Full Year Population Characteristics data and documentation are now available in the PRI MEPS SodaPop Collection.