Description

For all persons, HPFEXT captures the sum of direct payments for facility charges for hospital visits during the year. Hospital facility expenses include direct hospital care, including room and board; diagnostic and laboratory work; x-rays and similar charges; as well as any physician services included in the hospital charge. Payments for over-the-counter drugs and indirect payments not related to specific medical events, such as Medicaid Disproportionate Share and Medicare Direct Medical Education subsidies, are not included in this amount. For more information on how MEPS collects expenditure and charge data, please refer to our user note on medical expenditures.

Related variables
Variables related to total annual health care charges by source of payment, total annual health care charges by type of medical service, and analogous information for health care expenditures are also available. Please refer to our user note on medical expenditures for a list of these variables.

HPFEXT is a 6-digit numeric variable.

Comparability

This variable is completely comparable over time.

Universe

Availability

• 1996-2021

Weights

• 1996-2021 : PERWEIGHT

Flags