The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), also called the Health Insurance Cost Study, is an annual survey conducted by the Census Bureau for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Department of Health and Human Services). The MEPS-IC produces national and state level estimates of employer-sponsored insurance coverage. 

For private organizations, Title 13, United States Code, Section 8(b), and Section 913 of the Public Health Service Act (Title 42, United States Code, Section 299b-2(a)) authorize the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Health and Human Services to conduct this collection. For government units, we are conducting this study under the authority of Section 913 of the Public Health Service Act (Title 42, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 299b-2).

The MEPS-IC collects data from a sample of private and public sector employers. The sample consists of approximately 40,000 private industry establishments and 3,000 state and local governments.

The MEPS-IC surveys private and public sector employers to collect data on the number and types of health insurance plans offered, benefits associated with these plans, premiums, contributions by employers and employees, eligibility requirements, and employer characteristics.

This survey has been conducted annually since 1996, with a new sample selected every year.

The MEPS-IC uses multiple data collections methods. Most organizations and government units are initially screened by telephone to confirm their mailing addresses and to establish a point-of-contact with a knowledgeable respondent. If an organization or government unit does not offer health insurance to any of its employees, the non-insurance questions about establishment and firm characteristics are asked at that time, thus completing the survey by telephone.

Organizations and government units that offer health insurance and those that do not respond to the telephone screening are mailed a letter, inviting them to complete the survey online. If a valid email is available, then an email is also sent to the organization or government unit. If a response is not received, a full mailing of the paper questionnaire is sent. If a response is still not received after sending the full questionnaire, we will send reminder emails, letters and robocalls.

The MEPS-IC provides national and state level estimates by industry and firm size. Data for the private and public sectors are tabulated separately. Private sector tables are posted to the AHRQ Web Site in July and the public sector tables in November of the year after the data are collected.

To view the MEPS-IC data tables, data visualizations and tools, chartbook and other publications using MEPS-IC data, please visit: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance/Employer Component Overview (ahrq.gov)

Accurate and timely health insurance data are critical, given the rapidly rising cost of health care. Data are needed to track industry trends and examine how these trends have changed health insurance coverage over time. These data are national benchmarking estimates of how Americans use and pay for their health care services. Policy makers at the national and state levels use the data to assess the status of employer-sponsored health insurance throughout the United States and to monitor the impact of the laws governing health insurance.

Annual national estimates of aggregate spending on employer-sponsored health insurance are used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to calculate employer contributions to group health insurance, which accounts for about one-half of other labor income in the calculation of U.S. Gross Domestic Product. 

Researchers and policy analysts, both public and private, use these data to analyze several issues, such as the factors associated with a firm's decision to self-insure or offer more insurance, and to model the tax implications of proposed legislation.

The MEPS-IC is the only health insurance survey that provides estimates at the national, state, and Metropolitan statistical levels.

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