Attachment 2 - MEPS Promotional Materials

What is the household component
of MEPS?

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
(MEPS) is a unique nationwide study that
provides vital information on health care
use and costs for the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. MEPS has been
collecting data continuously since 1996.
It is the only survey of its kind to develop
a complete picture of the Nation’s health
care by combining data from two dynamic
sources – households in the United States
and their medical care providers.

What if I have other questions?
If you have questions about this study,
please call Alex Scott at this toll-free number:
1-800-945-MEPS (6377)
To learn more about MEPS, we invite you to
visit the web site of the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (www.ahrq.gov) or the
web site the Agency maintains about this
survey (www.meps.ahrq.gov) where you can
access the Participants’ Corner.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey

To learn more about Westat, visit
www.westat.com.
Your interviewer will be wearing an
identification badge that looks like this:

Because of this innovative design, MEPS
is unparalleled for the amount of detailed information it can provide to the health care community and the Nation. Now, more than ever, the
impact of COVID-19 highlights the importance
of accurate data on health care in our country.
This survey is conducted for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

MEPS
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

59995.0921 OMB# 0935-0118 Publication 22-101

What is the survey about?
MEPS collects information about the use of
medical care and about the costs and quality
of that care. Individuals and families across
the United States are asked about the medical
care they receive and about other factors that
affect their ability to get the medical care
they need. The study also includes questions
about age and education, health conditions,
employment, health insurance, and other
topics. Under the unique MEPS design, information collected from households is combined with information from the households’
medical providers to provide a comprehensive
picture of health care in the United States.

How is my household chosen?
Addresses across the entire U.S. are
selected using scientific methods so that
they represent all communities in the U.S.
If your household is selected to participate
in MEPS, you will represent thousands of
other households like yours.

YOUR

participation
can make a difference

Who is conducting the survey?
The survey is being conducted for the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),
part of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. AHRQ’s mission is to
produce evidence to make health care safer,
more accessible, equitable, affordable, and of
higher quality for all Americans. To make sure
the evidence is understood and used, AHRQ
works within the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services and other partners.
A team of trained interviewers from Westat,
a national research company based in the
Washington, DC area, conduct the interviews.
All interviewers wear identification badges
like the one on the back of this brochure and
use laptop computers to record your answers
to the survey.

What do I have to do?
Does my family have
to participate?

No. Participation in this survey is voluntary. At
any time, you or any member of your household
can decide not to participate or not to answer
specific questions. If you choose not to participate, there is no penalty and your family will not
lose any benefits to which you are entitled.

If selected, the survey asks questions about
health care visits, costs and payments for
services, and information about your health
care providers. Having notes or records of
your family’s health care makes it easier to
answer the survey questions. We will contact
you in advance of each interview and will
be happy to schedule the interview at your
convenience. Talking with a MEPS interviewer
is an opportunity for valuable public service.

How do I know my answers will
be kept confidential?

Because your rights to confidentiality are
protected by law! This survey is authorized
under 42 U.S.C. 299a. Privacy is protected
by the Privacy Act and Section 308(d)
of the Public Health Service Act [42
U.S.C. 299c-3(c) and 42 U.S.C. 242m(d)].
The confidentiality of your responses to
this survey is protected by Section 944(c).
Information that could identify you will not
be disclosed unless you have consented
to that disclosure.
Personally identifiable information such
as names and addresses is removed
before survey information is released
outside the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.

How are the results used?
After the information is collected and
compiled, AHRQ makes MEPS data
available to public agencies and private
entities of the health care community.
The answers given by MEPS participants
provide information that can be used to
plan for future health care needs.

Data protection is word ONE with MEPS
Nothing is more important to us than protecting the personal
information you share with the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey
field representative. That is why we take a number of steps to
ensure that no unauthorized persons will EVER have access to
information that identifies you as a MEPS participant.
• Each computer is password protected – Passwords are
changed at regular intervals.
•

Computer security is a major focus – The field representative
is trained to never leave the computer unattended or in plain
view, even in a locked car. At home the computer is secured in
an office and unavailable to other family members.

•

Information cannot be viewed or changed after the interview
is complete – Once the field representative completes the
interview, he/she cannot review or change the information
you provided.

•

No information that could identify survey participants is
publicly released – Information that could identify a survey
participant (i.e., name; address) is removed before the data is
made available to the public.

•

Pledge of confidentiality – All contracting staff and
government staff working on MEPS have signed an assurance
of confidentiality agreement. If this assurance is violated,
the violator is subject to penalties including fines and
possible arrest.
1652538978.1021

22-449

What MEPS Tells Us: Prevalence of
Paid Sick Leave Among Wage Earners
Paid Sick Leave (PSL) or Paid
Vacation Leave (PVL), for U.S.
Wage Earners, by Age, 2017

90%
80%

77.9%

79.6%

27-34

35-44

84.2%

81.0%

70%
60%

52.2%

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

19-26

45-54

55-64

(reference group)

Age Category
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2017.

❱ Access to paid sick leave is an employment benefit that can provide financial support
to families during periods when health difficulties, which may lead to increases in
out-of-pocket spending, might otherwise result in lost earnings.

❱ Older workers had more access to paid sick leave or vacation leave compared to
younger workers aged 19–26.

❱ Workers aged 45–54 had more access to paid sick leave or vacation leave than
any other group, including workers aged 55–64.

More Information

Prevalence of Paid Sick Leave
Among Wage Earners

23-714.1

What MEPS Tells Us:
Opioid Use
Average annual percentage
of non-elderly adults who filled
outpatient opioid prescriptions
in 2018-2019, overall and by sex

20%

15%

10%

8.7%

10.3%
7.0%

5%

2.3%

1.8%

2.7%

0%

Overall

Male

Female

Any Opioid Use (fill at least 1 prescription a year)
Frequent Opioid Use (fill 5 or more prescriptions a year)
Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2018-2019.

❱ Opioids are medicines commonly used to treat pain.
❱ In the U.S., 8.7% of people age 18-64 fill at least one opioid prescription a year.

Less than 2.5% are more frequent users—they fill 5 or more prescriptions a year.

❱ Women are more likely to use opioids in general, and to use them more often.

More Information

Opioid Use Among Non-Elderly Adults

23-714.2

What MEPS Tells Us:
The Cost of Doctor Visits by Specialty
Mean expenses per office-based physician visit by specialty,
2021
$675

$627

$436

$472

$473

Ophthalmology

$433

Cardiology

$450

OB/GYN

$525

All Other Specialties

$600

$368
$350

$-

Orthopedics

$75

$279

Dermatology

$150

$253

Primary Care

$150

$252

Pediatrics

$225

$250

Psychiatry

$300

Overall Average Cost

$375

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2021.

❱

On average, a doctor’s office visit in the U.S. costs $368. That cost includes how much your insurance
coverage—public or private—paid for, and how much you paid out of pocket.

❱
❱
❱

The cost depends on the type of doctor you go to. As you can see here, there’s a wide range.

❱

Going to an orthopedist (doctors who treat bone injuries) costs the most—at an average of $627 per visit.

Going to a pediatrician, psychiatrist, primary care, or dermatology provider costs less than average.
Going to a specialist like an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) or cardiologist (heart doctor) costs more than
average.

More Information

2021 Office-Based Medical Provider Visits File

23-714.3

What MEPS Tells Us: Top Ten Most Costly
Conditions Among Adults
Expenditures (in billions) for all visits/
events for 10 most costly conditions, 2020
$200

$172

$150

$145
$124
$115

$115

$109

$68

Other stomach and
intestinal disorders

$71

Back problems

COPD, asthma, and other
respiratory conditions

Nervous system disorders

Heart disease

Trauma-related disorders

$82

Diabetes mellitus

$-

Cancer

$50

Mental disorders

$100

Osteoarthritis and other non-traumatic
joint disorder

$129

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2020.

❱ In 2020, cancer, mental disorders, osteoarthritis and other joint disorders, and diabetes were
among the top most costly conditions.

❱ The highest condition-related expenditure total was for the treatment of cancer ($172 billion).

The other conditions in order of expenditures were mental disorders ($145 billion), osteoarthritis
and other joint disorders ($129 billion), and diabetes ($124 billion).

More Information

MEPS Household Component Data Tools

23-714.4

What MEPS Tells Us:
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Offer rate: Percentage of private-sector
employees in establishments that offer health
insurance, overall and by firm size, 2021

100%

90.3%

85.7%

90%

98.9%

80%
70%
60%

50.4%

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

United States

Small

< 50 employees

Medium

50-99 employees

Large

100+ employees

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, AHRQ, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component, private-sector
establishments, 2008–2021.

❱ Most people in the U.S.—nearly 86%—are offered health insurance by their employer.
This number hasn’t changed much in the last 10 years.

❱ Large companies offer insurance to almost all their employees. This trend has also held steady
since 2008.

❱ At small companies—with less than 50 employees—more than 60% of employees in 2008 were
offered health insurance. By 2021, the number was down to 50%.

More Information

Trends in Health Insurance
at Private Employers

23-714.5