Prevalence and costs of skin cancer treatment in the U.S., 2002-2006 and 2007-2011.

Background: Skin cancer, the most common cancer in the U.S., is a major public health problem.

Access to preventive health care for cancer survivors.

Background: Access to health care, particularly effective primary and secondary preventive care, is critical for cancer survivors, in order to minimize the adverse sequelae of cancer and its treatment.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to evaluate the association between cancer survivorship and access to primary and preventive health care.

Methods: Cancer survivors (n=4960) and individuals without a cancer history (n=64,431) aged ≥ 18 years, from the 2008-2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), were evaluated.

Health care expenditures for adults with multiple treated chronic conditions: estimates from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2009.

The objective of this article is to illustrate the usefulness of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data for examining variations in medical expenditures for people with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). We analyzed 2009 MEPS data to produce estimates of treated prevalence for MCC and associated medical expenditures for adults in the US civilian noninstitutionalized population (sample = 24,870). We also identified the most common dyad and triad combinations of treated conditions.

Determinants of utilization and expenditures for episodes of ambulatory physical therapy among adults.

Background: Comprehensive information on determinants and patterns of use and spending for ambulatory physical therapy services is needed to inform health planning and policy decisions. Most research in the literature on this topic is limited to specific payers, age groups, and conditions.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with the resource intensity of physical therapy episodes for adults in the United States as measured by number of visits and expenses per visit.

Patient-centered care categorization of U.S. health care expenditures.

Objective: To categorize national medical expenditures into patient-centered categories.

Data Sources: The 2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally representative annual survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

Study Design: Descriptive statistics categorizing expenditures into seven patient-centered care categories: chronic conditions, acute illness, trauma/injury or poisoning, dental, pregnancy/birth-related, routine preventative health care, and other.

Sensitivity of household reported medical conditions in the medical expenditure panel survey.

Introduction: Accurate survey data on medical conditions are critical for health care researchers. Although medical condition data are complex and are subject to reporting error, little information exists on the quality of household reported condition data.

Methods: We used pooled data from 4 years (2002-2005) of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to estimate the extent to which household respondents may underreport 23 types of medical conditions.

Being uninsured in 1996 compared to 1987: how has the experience of the uninsured changed over time?

Objective: To explore trends in the nonelderly uninsured population between 1987 and 1996 and examine whether the broad disparities in medical care utilization and out-of -pocket spending between the privately insured and uninsured populations that existed in 1987 continued over the following decade.

Data Sources/study Design: Data are from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey. We used survey data to create descriptive tables examining the characteristics of the uninsured population and the use of medical services, total and out-of -pocket expenditures, and the burden of out-of -pocket spending for the uninsured and the privately insured in 1987 and 1996.

Has the increase in HMO enrollment within the Medicaid population changed the pattern of health service use and expenditures?

Objective: To describe changes in health services use and expenditures within the Medicaid population between 1987 and 1997 and to estimate the extent to which the increase in Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) enrollment has influenced these changes.

Subjects: Individuals under the age of 65 years in the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey and the 1997 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey enrolled in Medicaid the entire year.

Research Design: Using bivariate and multivariate techniques, we compared several measures of health services use and expenditures across three groups: (1) individuals enrolled in Medicaid for all of 1987; (2) individuals enrolled in Medicaid for all of 1997 but never enrolled in an HMO; and (3) individuals enrolled in Medicaid for all of 1997 and enrolled in an HMO for at least part of the year.

Health care for children and youth in the United States: 2001 annual report on access, utilization, quality, and expenditures.

Objectives: To provide an update on insurance coverage, use of health care services, and health expenditures for children and youth in the United States and new information on parents' perceived quality of care for their children and to provide information on variation in hospitalizations for children from a 24-state hospital discharge data source.

Methods: The data on insurance coverage, utilization, expenditures, and perceived quality of care come from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The data on hospitalizations come from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which is part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.

The demographic characteristics of Medicaid-eligible uninsured children.

Objectives: This study estimated the number of uninsured children in 1993 who were eligible for Medicaid.

Methods: Data from the March 1990 and 1994 Current Population Surveys were analyzed.

Results: At least 2.

Normal caudate nucleus in obsessive-compulsive disorder assessed by quantitative neuroimaging.

Background: Prior neuroimaging studies have not consistently demonstrated a structural or functional abnormality of the caudate nucleus in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, there is theoretical support for some associated dysfunction of the caudate nucleus.

Methods: We examined volumes of the caudate nucleus and putamen with magnetic resonance imaging in 24 patients with adult-onset OCD and 21 control subjects, group-matched on age, race, education, and sex.

Oculomotor performance in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Objective: Neuroimaging studies have shown abnormalities of the frontal cortex and basal ganglia in persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since lesions in the frontal cortex and basal ganglia areas affect performance on goal-guided saccadic eye movements, this study investigated the relation between the diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and oculomotor performance.

Method: Eleven patients with the clinical diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder and 14 normal subjects were assessed with respect to their performance on both visual-guided and goal-guided oculomotor tasks.

Rural and urban hospital closures, 1985-1988: operating and environmental characteristics that affect risk.

Due to congressional concern that rural hospitals were particularly disadvantaged by Medicare's Prospective Payment System, the U.S. General Accounting Office investigated the role of Medicare and other factors in hospitals' risk of closure.