CMS is pleased to announce the release of the enhanced Master Beneficiary Summary File (MBSF) Base A/B/C/D Version 2 (V2) file starting with the 2023 enrollment year. Additionally, the MBSF Other Chronic and Potentially Disabling Conditions (OTCC) file has also been improved.
MBSF A/B/C/D V2 File Updates
The new file includes the following enhancements:
- Logic adjustments to monthly enrollment coverage variables, such as the HMO monthly indicators, to treat an unverified death date the same as a verified death date when populating the monthly values. Users can better differentiate between not enrolled versus not alive with this improvement.
- Several new variables, including program-specific coverage start dates, detailed information about Social Security disability status, and monthly variables for end-stage renal disease identification
- Improved monthly dual status indicator variables to better report dual-status information for beneficiaries from U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico
- Updated criteria to exclude a beneficiary from an annual MBSF whose coverage start date occurred after a verified or unverified date of death. In the current MBSF, these beneficiaries are included
Transition to V2
When requesting 2023 annual data, researchers will receive both the current MBSF Base A/B/C/D and the new MBSF Base V2 version. The MBSF segments, Chronic Conditions, Cost and Use, and Other Chronic and Potentially Disabling Conditions, will be produced using only the cohort from MBSF V2 (the V2 beneficiary cohort differs slightly from the current MBSF cohort due to the change in exclusion criteria related to a coverage start date that follows either an unverified or verified death date). The current MBSF Base A/B/C/D file will no longer be produced starting with annual 2024 data. Quarterly 2024 data will continue in the current version through 2024 and will be released in V2 starting with quarterly 2025 data.
MBSF OTCC File Updates
CMS has added a new chronic condition algorithm to MBSF OTCC, called Chronic Pain. This algorithm starts in 2018 with a look-back to 2016, and the 2018-2022 MBSF OTCC files have been rerun to include this new chronic condition data. The new 2023 MBSF OTCC file also includes the chronic pain condition. You may find details about the algorithm at https://www2.ccwdata.org/web/guest/condition-categories-other.
For more detailed information about the MBSF data and enhancements, we encourage you to reference the CCW Medicare Administrative Data User Guide and Codebook.