Westat is currently seeking motivated and detail-oriented individuals to collect data on the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). MEPS, a study of health care costs and usage in the United States, is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Every year since 1996, MEPS has collected data on specific health services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of these services, and how they are paid for, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of health insurance held and available to the U.S. population.
MEPS bilingual data collectors conduct interviews with adult members of households that are part of a nationally representative sample. In-person interviewing is the primary mode of data collection, unless pandemic conditions are in effect. In that situation, households will be interviewed by telephone. Data collectors are responsible for contacting these households by phone and/or in person to gain cooperation; for example, setting up appointments and conducting interviews using a Westat-provided laptop computer. Bilingual data collectors must be fluent in both spoken and written English and Spanish. Interviewers report regularly to a field supervisor, complete and submit administrative paperwork, and comply with data security and confidentiality requirements.