An estimation strategy for the combined population represented by the NMES household and nursing home surveys 1

Abstract

The National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) Household Survey was designed to produce national estimates of the health care utilization, expenditures, insurance coverage and source of payments for the civilian non-institutional population in 1987. The NMES Nursing Home Component of the Institutional Population Survey was designed to produce comparable estimates for the population resident in nursing and personal care homes in 1987. Individuals who were admitted to nursing and personal care homes from the community in 1987 were dually represented in the NMES Household and Nursing and Personal Care Home Surveys. This paper presents the estimation strategy adopted in NMES to allow for population estimates of the combined population represented by these component surveys. Particular attention will be given to the derivation of per capita and total health care expenditure estimates that characterize the union of the population in the community and in institutions over the course of 1987. Limitations with respect to the estimation strategy, as a consequence of the NMES survey design are also discussed.