The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component collects data on all members of sample households from selected communities across the United States. The MEPS-HC Variable Explorer Tool provides a quick and easy way to search across MEPS Public Use Files for variables and files needed for users' research projects.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Household Component (HC) collects data from a sample of families and individuals in selected communities across the United States, drawn from a nationally representative subsample of households that participated in the prior year's National Health Interview Survey (conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics). During the household interviews, MEPS collects detailed information for each person in the household on the following: demographic characteristics, health conditions, health status, use of medical services, charges and source of payments, access to care, satisfaction with care, health insurance coverage, income, and employment. The panel design of the survey, which features several rounds of interviewing, makes it possible to determine how changes in respondents' health status, income, employment, eligibility for public and private insurance coverage, use of services, and payment for care are related. Public Use Files for Household data are available on the MEPS website.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) is an annual survey of private employers and State and local governments. The MEPS-IC produces national and State level estimates of employer-sponsored insurance, including offered plans, costs, employee eligibility, and number of enrollees. With the MEPS-IC Data Tools, users can interactively explore maps, trends, and cross-sectional bar charts for topics related to national and state-level employer-based health insurance for employer characteristics/offerings; employee take-up; premiums; contributions; and cost-sharing. The MEPS-IC is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is fielded by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) is an annual survey of private employers and State and local governments. The MEPS-IC produces national and State level estimates of employer-sponsored insurance, including offered plans, costs, employee eligibility, and number of enrollees. PDF files are available for complete sets of table series on employer-based health insurance at the national, state, and metropolitan area levels. The MEPS-IC is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is fielded by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Health Care Satellite Account measures U.S. health care spending to treat diseases, like cancer or diabetes, rather than by place of service, like a hospital or doctor's office, offering a new way of analyzing the health care sector.

,Restricted Data Files Available at the Data Centers Researchers and users with approved research projects can access restricted data files that have not been publicly released for reasons of confidentiality at the AHRQ Data Center in Rockville, Maryland. Qualified researchers can also access restricted data files through the U.S. Census Research Data Center (RDC) network (http://www.census.gov/ces/dataproducts/index.html -- Scroll down the page and click on the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) link.) For information on the RDC research proposal process and the data sets available, read AHRQ-Census Bureau agreement on access to restricted MEPS data.,