Linking the National Medical Expenditure Survey with the National Health Interview Survey: Analysis of Field Trials

摘要

The report presents the results of field trials that tested and evaluated alternative strategies for using the National Health Interview Survey as the sampling frame for the National Medical Expenditure Survey. Several design factors were tested, including two types of sampling units, two modes of initial contact, and two modes of interview. The criteria used in the evaluation were response rates, refusal rates, level of effort, and costs associated with the different design factors. The findings indicate that the experimental treatments had little impact on response rates but differed in level of effort and data quality.