Medicare

Medicare is a health insurance program, administered by the United States government, for people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other special criteria like the End Stage Renal Disease program (ESRD).

Next Generation ACO Model Beneficiary RIF

The Next Generation ACO (NGACO) Model Beneficiary file contains information about the Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the NGACO Model. The file includes one record per year of enrollment for assigned beneficiaries. A related file, the Next Generation ACO Model Provider file, contains information about the participating providers in the NGACO Model.

What does this file include? (variable highlights)

  • Beneficiary ID (allows linkage to other files)
  • ACO Name
  • Monthly assignment status information
  • Date of Birth
  • Date of Death

Special considerations

  • This file can be linked to any other CMS file that includes the Bene ID
  • Beneficiaries can be linked to their assigned providers by linking the ACO_ID in the provider file to the ACO_NUM in the beneficiary file
  • Questions regarding the Next Generation ACO Model can be directed to NextGenerationACOModel@cms.hhs.gov

Understanding Economic Variables using Medicare Data Files

Date Recorded

This video is one segment in a series of videos from ResDAC’s Introduction to using Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Data for Research.

Medicare billing and payment systems directly impact what is observable in claims data and how to interpret the fields. This presentation will provide background for researchers interested in charges and payments including:

Hospitalization Information in the Inpatient File and the MedPAR

Date Recorded

This video is one segment in a series of videos from ResDAC’s Introduction to using Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Data for Research.

In this presentation, you will learn of the strengths and weaknesses of the hospitalization information which can be found in either the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) file or inpatient claims files.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges of Using Medicare Data

Date Recorded

This video is one segment in a series of videos from ResDAC’s Introduction to using Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Data for Research.

This presentation provides an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Medicare administrative data for research purposes. The claims data are derived from reimbursement or payment of bills.

Topics include: