Total Number of 1996 Events in Group (FFTOT96. If an emergency room visit is part of a flat fee group, the variable FFTOT96 counts the total number of all known events (that occurred during 1996) covered under a single flat fee payment situation. This count includes the emergency room visit record. Caveats of Flat Fee Groups There are 31 emergency room visits that are identified as being part of a flat fee payment group. In order to correctly identify all events that are part of a flat fee group, the user should link all MEPS event files (excluding the prescribed medicines file) using the variable FFID11X. In general, every flat fee group should have an initial visit (stem) and at least one subsequent visit (leaf). There are some situations where this is not true. For some flat fee groups, the initial visit reported occurred in 1996 but the remaining visits that were part of this flat fee group occurred in 1997. In this case, the 1996 flat fee group represented on this file would consist of one event (the stem). The 1997 events that are part of this flat fee group are not represented on the file. Similarly, the household respondent may have reported a flat fee group where the initial visit began in 1995 but subsequent visits occurred during 1996. In this case, the initial visit would not be represented on the file. This 1996 flat fee group would then only consist of one or more leaf records and no stem. Another reason for which a flat fee group would not have a stem and a leaf record is that the stems or leaves could have been reported as different event types. In a small number of cases, there are flat fee groups that span various event types. The stem may have been reported as one event type and the leaves may have been reported as another event type. In order to determine this, the analyst must link all event files (excluding the prescribed medicines file) using the variable FFID11X to create the flat fee group.
Total Number of 1996 Events in Group (FFTOT96. If a home health provider event is part of a flat fee group, the variable FFTOT96 counts the total number of all known events (that occurred during 1996) covered under a single flat fee payment situation. This count includes the home health provider event record in the count.
Total Number of 1996 Events in Group (FFTOT96. If a office-based medical provider visit is part of a flat fee group, the variable FFTOT96 counts the total number of all known events (that occurred during 1996) covered under a single flat fee payment situation. This count includes the office-based medical provider visit record in the count. Counts of Flat Fee Events that Cross Years (FFBEF96 – FFTOT97) As described above, a flat fee payment situation covers multiple events and the multiple events could span multiple years. For situations where a 1996 office-based medical provider visit is part of a group of events, and some of the events occurred before 1996, counts of the known events are provided on the office-based medical provider visit file record. An indicator variable is provided if some of the events occurred after 1996. These variables are: FFBEF96 -- total number of pre-1996 events in the same flat fee group as the 1996 office-based medical provider visit record. This count would not include 1996 office-based medical provider visit. FFOB97 – indicates whether or not there are 1997 office-based medical provider visits in the same flat fee group as the 1996 office-based medical provider visit record. FFTOT97 -- indicates whether or not there any 1997 medical events in the same flat fee group as the 1996 office-based medical provider visit record. Caveats of Flat Fee Groups The user should note that flat fee payment situations are common with respect to office-based medical provider visits. There are 3,271 office-based medical provider visits that are identified as being part of a flat fee payment group. In order to correctly identify all events that are part of a flat fee group, the user should link all MEPS event files, except the prescribed medicine file (HC- 010A), using the variable FFID11X. In general, every flat fee group should have an initial visit (stem) and at least one subsequent visit (leaf). There are some situations where this is not true. For some of these flat fee groups, the initial visit reported occurred in 1996 but the remaining visits that were part of this flat fee group occurred in 1997. In this case, the 1996 flat fee group represented on this file would consist of one event (the stem). The 1997 events that are part of this flat fee group are not represented on this file. Similarly, the household respondent may have reported a flat fee group where the initial visit began in 1995 but subsequent visits occurred during 1996. In this case, the initial visit would not be repre...
Total Number of 1996 Events in Group (FFTOT96. If a medical item was obtained as part of a flat fee group, the variable FFTOT96 counts the total number of all known events that occurred during 1996 that are covered under a single flat fee payment situation.
