Description: MEPS collects information about a select group of medical conditions that have been specified by the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality as "priority conditions." These conditions, selected for their prevalence, expense, or relevance to policy, are: hypertension, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, asthma, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD), and high cholesterol. High cholesterol information is collected by inquiring about the last time the respondent's cholesterol level was checked and if a medical professional recommended lowering the cholesterol or fat in the respondent's diet. High cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) is also identified by the condition code associated with medical events reported during a reference period. In addition to the tables below, person-level data files with high cholesterol variables can be downloaded for analysis.

Data tables: The Expenditures by Medical Conditions tables of the MEPS-HC Summary Data Tables contain information on expenditures, number of persons, and number of events related to high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia).

Analytic tools: No condition or high cholesterol variables are available on the MEPSnet/HC query tool at this time.

 AHRQ Podcasts: Healthcare 411 Series: Cholesterol Levels 02:00 (MM:SS)