CMS is pleased to announce upcoming enhancements to the Part D data products. These enhancements are designed to make the Part D data easier to use and align production with other CMS research data files.
Highlights of the upcoming enhancements include:
New Quarterly Part D Files
CMS will begin releasing the Part D Event (PDE) file and the Part D characteristics files (prescriber, plan, formulary, and pharmacy) quarterly.
The new quarterly Part D data products will be produced after a three-month maturity run-out, following the same cadence as the quarterly Master Beneficiary Summary File and Original Medicare claims datasets. For example:
- Q2 2026 (April – June 2026) PDE will be produced in October 2026
- Q3 2026 (July – September 2026) PDE will be produced in January 2027
We will simultaneously release the 2026 Q1 and Q2 PDE products in October 2026, after which the standard quarterly release cadence will begin. For more information on whether early PDE data is appropriate for your study, please refer to the Understanding CMS Data Maturity papers.
Fees for physically shipped PDE and characteristics files will follow the standard quarterly pricing for other CMS research products - see the CMS Fee List for Physical Research Data Request for details.
The Medication Therapy Management and Part D Plan Election Type Beneficiary Summary files will remain on their current annual release schedule
Standard Part D Event (PDE) Layout
Consistent with other CMS data products, the PDE data will now be released in a standard layout. Requestors will no longer be required to select individual PDE variables and will not need to provide variable-by-variable justifications. The new standard layout will include information formerly available in the Drug Characteristic File so that file will no longer be a stand-alone data product.
Part D Plan Characteristics File Changes
In 2025, CMS retired the coverage gap benefit phase, which impacts many of the variables in the Plan Characteristics files. Documentation related to the variable changes in the characteristic files will be released with the data in October.