Description

For all persons, OPEXPMC captures the sum of direct payments made by Medicare for care provided by outpatient medical providers during the year. This includes payments for hospital facility expenses (including 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) and "separately billing doctor" or SBD expenses (including services provided to patients in hospital settings by providers like radiologists, anesthesiologists, and pathologists, whose charges are often not included in hospital bills). 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 data, please refer to our user note on medical expenditures.

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

OPEXPMC is a 6-digit numeric variable.

Comparability

This variable is completely comparable over time.

Universe

Availability

• 2007-2022

Weights

• 2007-2022 : PERWEIGHT

Flags