Common use of Definition of Expenditures Clause in Contracts

Definition of Expenditures. Expenditures on this file refer to what is paid for health care services. More specifically, expenditures in MEPS are defined as the sum of payments for care received, including out-of- pocket payments and payments made by private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and other sources. The definition of expenditures used in MEPS differs slightly from its predecessors, the 1987 NMES and 1977 NMCES surveys, where “charges” rather than “sum of payments” were used to measure expenditures. This change was adopted because charges became a less appropriate proxy for medical expenditures during the 1990s because of the increasingly common practice of discounting charges. Although measuring expenditures as the sum of payments incorporates discounts in the MEPS expenditure estimates, the estimates do not incorporate any manufacturer or other rebates associated with Medicaid or other purchases. Another general change from the two prior surveys is that charges associated with uncollected liability, bad debt, and charitable care (unless provided by a public clinic or hospital) are not counted as expenditures, because there are no payments associated with those classifications. For details on expenditure definitions, please reference the following, “Informing American Health Care Policy” (Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, 1999). If examining trends in MEPS expenditures or performing longitudinal analysis on MEPS expenditures please refer to Section C, sub-sections 3.4 and 6.3 respectively for more information.