MEPS – Field Interviewer

About the role

Westat is seeking Field Interviewers for the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a study of health care costs and usage in the United States sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). MEPS is a panel survey that conducts several rounds of interviews with the same respondents over two full calendar years to collect detailed health care expenditure and utilization data.

Responsibilities

• Contact households in-person and/or by phone to introduce the study and gain cooperation.
• Set appointments and complete in-person and computer-assisted video interviews with adult household members using a Westat‑provided laptop.
• Collect and follow up on electronic and hard‑copy signed documents.
• Transmit electronic data daily on days worked.
• Comply with all required data security and confidentiality requirements.
• Attend mandatory training (web‑based home study, in‑person, and post‑training virtual sessions) as scheduled.
• Travel to assigned households, including local and occasional overnight trips, to conduct interviews.

Requirements

• Be 18 years or older (or an emancipated minor) and able to enter binding confidentiality agreements.
• Available to complete mandatory web‑based home study training and Microsoft Teams video sessions between January 4 and January 15, 2027.
• Available to travel to and attend mandatory in‑person training on January 19, 2027, and complete the five‑and‑a‑half‑day session from January 20‑25, 2027.
• Available to complete additional web‑based and virtual training activities, including a post‑training home study January 26‑31, 2027.
• Reside in and be able to travel within project‑designated areas to contact assigned households.
• Available to work the data collection period from January 2027 through December 2030.
• Ability to work a minimum of 20 hours per week when work is available, mostly evenings and weekends, with limited daytime work based on household preferences.
• Meet physical requirements: lift and carry 20 pounds of equipment, walk several blocks, climb stairs while carrying equipment.
• Have consistent access to a fully insured, reliable vehicle meeting Westat’s minimum insurance coverage and a current, valid driver’s license not under suspension.

Skills

• In‑person interviewing experience and/or computer‑assisted video interviewing experience.
• Public contact and/or cold‑calling experience.
• Comfort working in unfamiliar locations, knocking on doors, and communicating with people from diverse backgrounds.

Benefits

• Health and welfare payment of $5.35 per week (up to 40 work hours), which may be reduced based on group benefit election.
• Paid vacation and holiday leave accrued based on hours worked.
• Sick leave accrued based on hours worked.
• Eligibility to participate in the 401(k) program (employer matching dependent on hours worked).
• Eligibility for health insurance and a health savings account (HSA) after working 1,560 hours from September to September of the following year, with coverage beginning January 1 of the year after eligibility is satisfied.
• Overtime pay available as a non‑exempt position.

Pay

The hourly pay rate for this position is $22.58.

Schedule

• Part‑time, variable‑hour position.
• Data collection runs yearly in two periods: January – mid‑July and late July – early December.
• Minimum of 20 hours per week when work is available, primarily evenings and weekends; limited daytime work