The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is an ongoing study conducted in the United States that collects data on health care utilization and costs and insurance coverage. It consists of four separate components: the Household Component (HC), the Nursing Home Component (NHC), the Medical Provider Component (MPC), and the Insurance Component.

The MEPS HC is a nationally representative survey of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population, using a sampling frame drawn from the previous year's National Health Interview Study sampling [Page 665]frame. The HC, which has been conducted continuously since 1966, collects data on all members of a sampled household or family from a single member of the household and uses an overlapping panel design so that ...