Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality

STATISTICAL BRIEF #197 

Highlights 

 Among non-elderly people of 

all ages, the 71.2 percent with 

private insurance during all or

part of 2004 accounted for 79 

percent of the medical 

expenditures, while the 14.1 

percent without any private or 

public insurance during the 

year (i.e., the full-year 

uninsured) accounted for 4.8 

percent of the medical 

expenditures. 

 The proportion of full-year 

uninsured people with medical 

expenditures was consistently

lower than that of people with 

private or public only 

insurance in 2004. Differences

are most pronounced in the 

18–44 age group where 48.1 

percent of the full-year 

uninsured had some type of 

medical expenditure 

compared to 84 percent with

private insurance and 83.7 

percent with public only

insurance. 

 In the 45–64 age group, the 

proportion of people with 

public only insurance who had 

medical expenditures 

exceeded that of people with

private insurance for hospital 

care (52.6 percent vs. 33.2 

percent), office-based medical

provider care (85 percent vs. 

80.8 percent), and 

prescription drugs (85.2 

percent vs. 77 percent). 

 The average expenditure of 

people with public only

insurance who had medical 

expenditures exceeded that of

privately insured people for all

types of care in the 18–44 age

group ($4,174 vs. $2,668) and 

the 45–64 age group ($8,491 

vs. $5,166). People with 

public only insurance had 

higher average expenditures 

for prescription drugs than 

privately insured people 18–

44, ($1,224 vs. $561) and 45–

64 ($3,186 vs. $1,317).

January 2008 

Medical Expenditures of the NonElderly by Age and Insurance Status, 

2004 

Gary Olin, PhD 

Introduction 

The Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel 

Survey (MEPS-HC) includes information on the demographic

characteristics and insurance status of the civilian 

noninstitutionalized population as well as its medical expenditures. 

This Statistical Brief describes medical expenditures of the nonelderly (under age 65) by age group and insurance status in 2004. 

Only differences between estimates for selected groups that are 

statistically significant at the 0.05 level are discussed in the text. 

Findings 

Distribution and medical expenditures of the non-elderly by

insurance status 

Table 1 shows the distribution and total medical expenditures of nonelderly people in the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population by

insurance status in 2004. Medical expenditures of the non-elderly 

are not uniformly distributed by insurance status. People with private 

health insurance for all or part of the year were responsible for 79 

percent of all medical expenditures even though they represented 

71.2 percent of the non-elderly population. In contrast, people who 

were uninsured for the entire year (i.e., full-year uninsured) 

accounted for 4.8 percent of all medical expenditures while 

representing 14.1 percent of the non-elderly population. 

Proportion of non-elderly people with medical expenditures by age

group, insurance status, and type of care 

Table 2 shows the proportion of non-elderly people with medical 

expenditures by age group, insurance status, and type of care in 

2004. The full-year uninsured were less likely than people with 

private or public only insurance to have medical expenditures 

regardless of age or type of care. These differences are most 

pronounced in the 18–44 age group where, for example, 48.1 

percent of the full-year uninsured had some type of medical 

expenditure compared to 84 percent with private insurance and 83.7 

percent with public only insurance. 
The proportion of people with public only insurance who had medical expenditures exceeded that of 

people with private insurance in some instances. Among 45–64 year olds, for example, the public only 

insurance group was more likely to have expenses for hospital care (52.6 percent vs. 33.2 percent), 

office-based medical provider care (85 percent vs. 80.8 percent), and prescription drugs (85.2 percent vs. 

77 percent). 

Average medical expenditure of non-elderly people with expenditures, by age group, insurance status, 

and type of expenditure 

Table 3 shows the average expenditure of non-elderly people who had medical expenditures by age 

group, insurance status, and type of expenditure in 2004. The average expenditure of people who had 

medical expenditures varies considerably by age group and type of expenditure, but it is nearly always 

lower among the full-year uninsured than the privately insured. The one exception is hospital 

expenditures by 45–64 year olds, where the difference between the average expenditure by full-year 

uninsured and privately insured people who had hospital expenditures is not statistically significant. All 

other differences between the average expenditure for these two groups are statistically significant at the 

0.05 level in table 3. 

The average expenditure of publicly insured people exceeded that of privately insured people in several 

of the age and type of expenditure categories. The average expenditure for all types of care was $4,174 

vs. $2,668 in the 18–44 age group and $8,491 vs. $5,166 in the 45–64 age group. In addition, the 

average expenditure for prescription drugs was $1,224 vs. $561 in the 18–44 age group and $3,186 vs. 

$1,317 in the 45–64 age group. 

Data Source 

This Statistical Brief uses data from the 2004 Full Year Consolidated Data File (HC-089). This file is 

available on the MEPS Web site at 

http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_stats/download_data_files.jsp. 

Definitions 

Population 

The statistics are for people who lived in the community for all or part of the year and were under the age 

of 65. 

Age 

Age is that of the sample person as of December 31st of the reported year. 

Insurance status 

Insurance categories are hierarchical. Private insurance includes anyone who had any private insurance 

(including TRICARE) at any time during the year. Public insurance includes anyone who had any public 

insurance at any time during the year. Uninsured refers to people who did not have any private or public 

insurance at any time during the year. 

 

Expenditures 

The MEPS includes expenditures for eight types of medical events: hospital stays, emergency room 

visits, outpatient department visits, office-based medical provider visits, dental visits, home health care, 

other medical expenses, and prescription medicines. Expenditures for these events include all direct 

payments by individuals, private insurance (including TRICARE), Medicare, Medicaid, and other sources 

such as the Veterans Administration, Workers’ Compensation, and miscellaneous public sources to 

providers of the services. 

About MEPS-HC 

MEPS-HC is a nationally representative longitudinal survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized 

population. It collects detailed information on healthcare use and expenditures by payment source, health 

insurance, health status, access, and quality. The survey is cosponsored by the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality and the National Center for Health Statistics. 
For more information about MEPS, call the MEPS information coordinator at AHRQ (301-427-1406) or 

visit the MEPS Web site at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov. 

References 

For a detailed description of the MEPS-HC survey and sample design, and methods used to minimize 

sources on nonsampling error, see the following publications: 

Cohen J. Design and Methods of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component. MEPS 

Methodology Report No. 1. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0026. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Policy and 

Research, 1997. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/mr1/mr1.shtml 

Cohen S. Sample Design of the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component. MEPS 

Methodology Report No. 2. AHCPR Pub. No. 97-0027. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Policy and 

Research, 1997. http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/mr2/mr2.shtml 

Cohen, S. Design Strategies and Innovations in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Medical Care, 

July 2003: 41(7) Supplement: III-5–III-12. 

Suggested Citation 

Olin, Gary Medical Expenditures of the Non-Elderly by Age and Insurance Status, 2004. Statistical Brief 

#197. January 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. 

http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st197/stat197.pdf 

 

# # # 

AHRQ welcomes questions and comments from readers of this publication who are interested in 

obtaining more information about access, cost, use, financing, and quality of health care in the United 

States. We also invite you to tell us how you are using this Statistical Brief and other MEPS data and 

tools and to share suggestions on how MEPS products might be enhanced to further meet your needs. 

Please e-mail us at mepspd@ahrq.gov or send a letter to the address below: 

Steven B. Cohen, PhD, Director 

Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 

540 Gaither Road 

Rockville, MD 20850 
Table 1. Distribution and medical expenditures of the non-elderly by insurance status, 2004 

 

 

Insurance status Number of people 

(in millions) 

Percentage of total 

non-elderly 

Expenditures1 

($billions) 

Percentage of total 

expenditures 

All non-elderly 

 Private insurance 182.7 71.2 508.3 79.0 

 Public only 37.8 14.7 104.2 16.2 

 Full-year uninsured 36.0 14.1 31.1 4.8 

Total 256.5 100.0 643.6 100.0 

1

Expenditures are for all types of care. 

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends (CFACT), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical 

Expenditure Panel Survey, 2004. 

Table 2. Proportion of non-elderly people with medical expenditures, by age group, insurance 

status and type of care, 2004 

Age and insurance 

status 

All medical care1 Hospital care2 Office-based medical 

provider care 3

Prescription drugs4

All non-elderly (0–64) 

 Private insurance 87.9 25.3 73.7 62.9 

 Public only 84.4 31.8 70.6 59.3 

 Full-year uninsured 55.6 12.8 38.3 35.0 

 

0–17 years old 

 Private insurance 90.3 17.8 76.1 50.9 

 Public only 82.4 21.8 67.7 48.1 

 Full-year uninsured 63.3 11.5 48.0 30.6 

18–44 years old 

 Private insurance 84.0 24.2 67.2 60.0 

 Public only 83.7 40.1 68.8 66.8 

 Full-year uninsured 48.1 11.8 31.3 30.7 

45–64 years old 

 Private insurance 91.2 33.2 80.8 77.0 

 Public only 93.1 52.6 85.0 85.2 

 Full-year uninsured 68.6 16.3 49.5 48.3 

 

1

Any type of care. 

2

Any inpatient, outpatient, or emergency room care. 

3

Any office-based medical provider care. 

4

Any prescription medicine purchase. 

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends (CFACT), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical 

Expenditure Panel Survey, 2004. 
Table 3. Average medical expenditure of non-elderly people with expenditures, by age group, 

insurance status, and type of expenditure, 2004 

Age and insurance 

status 

All medical care 

expenditures1

Hospital 

expenditures2

Office-based medical 

provider expenditures3

Prescription drug 

expenditures4

All non-elderly (0–64) 

 Private insurance 3,165 4,558 944 790 

 Public only 3,261 3,753 751 1,261 

 Full-year uninsured 1,556 2,679 541 526 

 

0–17 years old 

 Private insurance 1,467 2,442 474 279 

 Public only 1,106 1,841 317 304 

 Full-year uninsured 849 1,382 324 123 

18–44 years old 

 Private insurance 2,668 3,878 842 561 

 Public only 4,174 4,515 933 1,224 

 Full-year uninsured 1,108 1,696 470 325 

45–64 years old 

 Private insurance 5,166 6,179 1,427 1,317 

 Public only 8,491 5,516 1,703 3,186 

 Full-year uninsured 2,695 4,932 774 984 

 

1

Expenditures are for any type of care. 

2

Expenditures are for inpatient, outpatient, and emergency room care. 

3

Expenditures are for office-based medical provider care. 

4

Expenditures are for prescription medicine purchases. 

 

Source: Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends (CFACT), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Medical 

Expenditure Panel Survey, 2004.