Attachment 17 -- HC Rd 5 Advance Letter 2

09-111

Winter 2009

Dear MEPS Participant,

This is just a reminder that an interviewer will contact you in the next few weeks to schedule your final interview for the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Because we will only ask you about medical events through December 31, 2008 in the final interview, you do not need to write down any health events and expenditures that take place in 2009.

When you complete the interview you will receive a gift of $30 to thank you for your time and for keeping records about your family’s health care.

Should you move before the interview, please complete and return the enclosed postage-paid change of address card. If you need to speak with a survey representative before you are contacted by your interviewer, please call Alex Scott at 1-800-945 MEPS (6377), a toll-free number.

Your continued participation in this important study has been invaluable to national policy makers and to researchers who track the state of our nation’s health care system. Thank you again for your valuable contribution to this vital research effort.¹ To learn more about the study, you may visit the study website at: http://www.meps.ahrq.gov.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Clancy, M.D. Director Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D. Director National Center for Health Statistics Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1 This survey is authorized under Section 902 (a) of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 299a]. The confidentiality of personal information is protected by Federal Statutes, Section 934(c) and Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 299c-3(c) and 242m(d)] and will be kept private to the extent permitted by law. That law requires that information collected for research conducted or supported by AHRQ that identifies individuals or establishments be used only for the purpose for which it was supplied unless you consent to the use of the information for another purpose.