Description

For all persons eligible for the Access to Care section (ACCESSELIG) who have a usual source of care provider (USUALPL) who is either a person or a person working in a facility (USCPRFAC), USCPRTYP reports the type of provider the person sees as their usual source of care provider. Prior to 2003, persons could choose from a set list or provider types. Beginning in 2003, additional categories are included as needed based on verbatim responses.

USCPRTYP is collected as part of the Access to Care section, which gathers information on barriers family members have faced in obtaining needed health care, the usual source of care for all family members, and characteristics of usual source of care health providers. Please see USCPRFAC for all variables pertaining to the characteristics of the respondent's usual source of care and ACCESSELIG for more information about the Access to Care section.

IPUMS MEPS reports the universe for each variable based on a thorough review of the original MEPS documentation. Investigating the data may reveal cases that do not meet the stated universe. Users are encouraged to validate universes for their analyses.

Comparability

Users should note that the Access to Care variables are not designed to yield full-year estimates in 1997, as the section is only administered in Round 2 instead of Rounds 2 and 4. The 1997 AHRQ documentation advises that "The 1997 Access to Care variables cannot be used to make full-year estimates, but can be useful in such analyses as trend analyses, or for enhancing subgroup analyses. These variables may be of particular interest because of the 1997 oversample of populations (such as poverty, children with activity limitations, adults with functional limitations, high medical expenditure cases, and the elderly) where access issues are particularly relevant" (C-16). Because USCPRTYP is only collected in Round 2 in 1997 instead of Rounds 2 and 4, USCPRTYP cannot be used to make a full-year estimate in 1997. Otherwise, this variable is comparable over time.

Universe

Availability

• 1996-2021

Weights

• 1996-2021 : PERWEIGHT

Flags