Encrypted CCW Beneficiary Identifier

This variable is contained in the following files:

TAF Pharmacy File TAF Other Services File TAF Long Term Care File TAF Inpatient File

SAS Name

BENE_ID

The Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse (CCW) assigns a unique beneficiary identification number to each individual who receives Medicare and/or Medicaid, and uses that number to identify an individual’s records in all CCW data files (e.g., Medicare claims, Medicare encounter, MAX claims, T-MSIS claims, and MDS assessment data).

This number does not change during a beneficiary’s lifetime and each number is used only once.

The BENE_ID is specific to the CCW and is not applicable to any other identification system or data source.

Comments

If the BENE_ID is null/missing, then use the combination of MSIS_ID and STATE_CD to identify distinct enrollees. Note that if using multiple years of data, MSIS_ID and STATE_CD may not represent the same person over time. Additional details regarding how to uniquely identify individuals within the researcher files is found in the User Guide https://www2.ccwdata.org/web/guest/user-documentation

Source: CCW (derived)

15 character alphanumeric string (Ex - 22222222GDDGjJs)

Code	Code value
NULL	not enough identifying information to assign a BENE_ID