The Long Term Care Minimum Data Set (MDS)-Swing Bed is a health status screening and assessment tool. It is required for Medicare payment of hospital-based skilled nursing care. Swing-bed providers are hospitals that can use their beds, as needed, to provide either acute or post-acute skilled nursing care.  The swing-bed assessment includes a subset of the skilled nursing facility (SNF) assessment items. The MDS 3.0 was implemented in October, 2010, replacing version 2.0.

The Long Term Care Minimum Data Set (MDS) is a health status screening and assessment tool used for all residents of long term care nursing facilities certified to participate in Medicare or Medicaid, regardless of payer. The assessment is also required for Medicare payment of skilled nursing facility stays. Assessment data for Skilled Nursing Swing Beds 2.0 is included in a separate file. Version 2.0 was replaced by MDS version 3.0 on October 1, 2010.

The Long Term Care Minimum Data Set (MDS)-Swing Bed is a health status screening and assessment tool. It is required for Medicare payment of hospital-based skilled nursing care. Swing-bed providers are hospitals that can use beds, as needed, to provide either acute or post-acute skilled nursing care.  The swing-bed assessment includes a subset of the skilled nursing facility (SNF) MDS items. MDS Swing Bed 2.0 was replaced by version 3.0 in October, 2010.

CMS administers several surveys to assess beneficiary experience with different types of health care. Some of these are CMS-only surveys. Others, those designated as CAHPS, have been approved by the AHRQ-overseen CAHPS consortium.

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-Medicare linked dataset includes HRS survey information linked to CMS claims and assessment data for the HRS study population. The HRS has been fielded since 1992 and surveys more than 30,000 people age 50 and older.

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is designed to:

• facilitate understanding of the relationship between medical history and financial status
• examine how use of health care may change as people age.

The longitudinal survey data is linked to CMS data to provide information on health care utilization and beneficiary assessment.

CMS is no longer distributing this file. See the NIA Data LINKAGE Program website to request this data.

The Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (HOS) collects patient-reported outcomes measures from beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans. The Medicare HOS program collects health status data for use in quality improvement activities, plan accountability documentation, and health improvement activities in a base survey and two year follow-up survey. The baseline sample size is 1,200.

The Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) Patient-Level Detail (PLD) files are a set of standardized healthcare quality measures designed to provide information for reliable comparison of health plan performance. The HEDIS PLD data are submitted annually by Medicare Advantage (MA) Organizations, Cost Plans, and Demonstration Plans and contribute to the assignment of CMS Star Ratings for MA plans.

The HEDIS Measures file is a person-level file that includes information about all HEDIS measures, except the Plan All-Cause Readmission measure, which is included in HEDIS File 2. It represents beneficiaries enrolled in each MA plan/contract during the year. The file contains indicator variables for whether the beneficiary met the denominator and numerator requirements for each of the HEDIS measures, as well as weights for some measures.

The HEDIS Medicare Advantage Plan All-Cause Readmissions (PCR) File (referred to as File 2 in the file name) is a patient-level file that contains all variables pertinent to the PCR measure. There is a separate record for each acute inpatient hospital discharge during the year.

The MD-PPAS file assigns Medicare providers to medical practices based on the tax identification numbers and elaborates on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provider specialty classification. This provider-level dataset is built around two identifiers: the national provider identifier (NPI) and the tax identification number (TIN).

CMS has created a set of analytical files that contain data from the Medicare Shared Saving Program. There are two separate files in this data set:

• The Shared Savings Program Beneficiary-Level Research Identifiable File (RIF)
• The Shared Savings Program Provider-Level RIF

CMS has created a set of analytical files that contain data from the Medicare Shared Saving Program. There are two separate files in this data set:

• The Shared Savings Program Beneficiary-Level Research Identifiable File (RIF)
• The Shared Savings Program Provider-Level RIF

CMS has created an analytical file that contains enrollment data for beneficiaries in the Comprehensive ESRD Care (CEC) Model. A related file, the CEC Provider RIF, contains identifying information about the providers participating in the CEC Model. 

The CEC Beneficiary Performance Year RIF files contain PY finder files for the beneficiary population attributed to an ESRD Seamless Care Organization (ESCO).

CMS has created an analytical file that contains information about providers who are participating in the Comprehensive ESRD Care (CEC) Model. A related file, the CEC Beneficiary RIF, contains identifying information about the beneficiaries assigned to a provider who is participating in the CEC Model. 

The CEC Provider Performance Year RIF files contain PY finder files for the providers participating in the ESRD Seamless Care Organization (ESCO). 

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.

The Next Generation ACO (NGACO) Model Provider file contains information about the participating providers in the NGACO Model. The file includes one record per year of participation for participating organizations. A related file, the Next Generation ACO Model Beneficiary file, contains identifying information about the beneficiaries assigned to a provider who is participating in the NGACO Model.

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) collects interview data on functioning in late life among the elderly population. NHATS began collecting data in 2011, with over 8,000 Medicare beneficiaries responding to the first round.

CMS is no longer distributing this file. See the NIA Data LINKAGE Program website to request this data.

The Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements (SPADE) file includes standardized data elements developed by CMS to meet the requirements of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014. The IMPACT Act requires the reporting of standardized patient assessment data with regard to quality measures and SPADE. In addition, the IMPACT Act requires assessment data to be standardized and interoperable to allow for exchange of the data among post-acute providers and other providers. The Act intends for standardized post-acute care data to improve Medicare beneficiary outcomes through shared-decision making, care coordination, and enhanced discharge planning. The data elements in the SPADE data set address care in the following post-acute settings: Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, Long-Term Care Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities and Home Health Agencies.

The Value Modifier (VM) Beneficiary-Level Research Identifiable File (RIF) includes one record for each beneficiary who was attributed to a practice subject to the VM based on the given performance year. Using the RIF data, researchers can examine differences in beneficiary characteristics, costs across practices, and the stability of beneficiaries attributed to a specific practice across time. Program and participation information can be found on the CMS website.

The Value Modifier (VM) NPI Practice-Level Research Identifiable File (RIF) includes one record for each eligible professional associated with a practice subject to the VM based on the given performance year. Using the RIF data, researchers can examine practice specialty composition, size, and practice changes across performance years.

The Value Modifier (VM) Practice-Level Research Identifiable File (RIF) includes one record for each practice that was subject to the VM based on the given performance year. Using the RIF data, researchers can examine trends in cost and quality performance and identify factors supporting higher quality at lower cost.

The VM Practice-Level RIF contains Quality and Resource Use Report (QRUR) and VM information. Program and participation information can be found on the CMS website.

The Medicare-Medicaid Linked Enrollee Analytic Data Source (MMLEADS) 2.0 suite of files combines Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and claims data into four annual beneficiary-level files. The files include beneficiaries who are Medicare-only, Medicare-Medicaid dually enrolled and Medicaid-only blind and disabled.

The Medicare-Medicaid Linked Enrollee Analytic Data Source (MMLEADS) 3.0 suite of files combines Medicare and Medicaid enrollment and claims data into two annual beneficiary-level files. The files include beneficiaries who are Medicare-only, Medicare-Medicaid dually enrolled and Medicaid-only blind and disabled.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has created a set of files that contain Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations information. There are three separate files in the set:

• Provider-includes one record for each facility or professional participating provider
• Beneficiary-each record represents an individual beneficiary who was associated with a Pioneer ACO
• Settlement-one record for each Pioneer ACO provides information on the post-performance year financial settlement