The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Chronic Conditions Warehouse (CCW), a research database, in response to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). Section 723 of the MMA outlined a plan to improve the quality of care and reduce the cost of care for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries. In addition to chronic conditions, the CCW supports health policy analysis and other CMS initiatives.

The Beneficiary Link

The CCW data are linked by a unique, unidentifiable beneficiary key, which allows researchers to analyze information across the continuum of care.

The CCW is designed to:

  • Follow beneficiaries across multiple care settings
  • Identify areas for improving quality of care provided to chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries
  • Identify ways to reduce program spending
  • Make current Medicare, Medicaid, Assessment, and Part D data more readily available to researchers for all types of studies, populations, and rare events
  • Provide thorough documentation so researchers understand the common keys, relationships between claims types, and how to use data accurately

Finder File Encryption Policy

Refer to this document for requirements for submitting a finder file to the CCW for fulfillment of an approved research data request.

The CCW Virtual Research Data Center (VRDC) 

View this CCW VRDC informational video to learn how you can access, analyze, and aggregate all the data you need like never before!

To learn more about the VRDC and how to request access or data, visit this page: