New Chronic Conditions File Added to the Master Beneficiary Summary File - posted 3/7/2022

CMS is pleased to announce the addition of the new 30 CCW Chronic Conditions file for data years 2017–2020.

CMS worked in conjunction with a subject matter expert panel to validate and refine the current 27 CCW Chronic Conditions algorithms to create a new set of 30 CCW Chronic Conditions.

The current 27 CCW Chronic Conditions file is still available through the current data year, 2020. The last data year for this file will be 2021.

What specific changes can I expect with the new set of 30 CCW Chronic Conditions?

  • Modified look-back periods, qualifying claims, and codes
  • Three new condition algorithms: 1) Urologic Cancer (Kidney, Renal Pelvis and Ureter), 2) All Cause Pneumonia, and 3) Parkinson's Disease and Secondary Parkinsonism
  • Removal of mid-year indicators

The codebook and record layout for the new 30 CCW Chronic Conditions file are on the Data Dictionaries page of the CCW website.

More information about the condition algorithms is on the Chronic Conditions page of the CCW website. The Chronic Conditions File Enhancements white paper contains detailed comparisons between the two sets of algorithms and guidance for researchers.

Updated Next Generation ACO Model Data Now Available - posted 12/14/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (NGACO) Model Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Performance Year 4. Two files are available for this performance year. The first file, the NGACO Beneficiary RIF, contains enrollment data for beneficiaries in the NGACO Model. A second file, the NGACO Provider RIF, contains identifying information about the providers participating in the NGACO Model. The Model consists of three initial performance years (2016-2018) and two optional one-year extensions (2019-2020).

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation's (CMMI) NGACO Model is an initiative for ACOs that are experienced in coordinating care for populations of patients. It allows these provider groups to assume higher levels of financial risk and reward than are available under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). The goal of the Model is to test whether strong financial incentives for ACOs, coupled with tools to support better patient engagement and care management, can improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures for original Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries.

Questions regarding the NGACO Model can be directed to NextGenerationACOModel@cms.hhs.gov.

2019 Medicare Advantage (Part C) Encounter Data Now Available - posted 11/18/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of updated 2019 Medicare Advantage (Part C) Encounter data. In June 2021, CMS released a “Preliminary” version of the 2019 Medicare Advantage (MA) Encounter RIFs to give researchers earlier access to Encounter data for this service year. The Preliminary 2019 RIF data was not fully mature because Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) were still submitting encounter records for that service year to CMS. Today's 2019 MA Encounter research file release contains fully mature data, which includes at least 12 months of runout for each service month.

These files were created from data submitted to CMS by Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) for services provided to beneficiaries under the Medicare Part C benefit during calendar year 2019. The MA Encounter files include data for six (6) settings: Inpatient (IP), Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), Home Health (HH), Institutional Outpatient (OP), Carrier and Durable Medical Equipment (DME). A MA Encounter Data User Guide, providing guidance on the use of the files, is available.

2020 Preliminary Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 11/3/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of Preliminary Medicaid T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) for calendar year 2020. The TAF research files* contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, service use, and payments. They are designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community.

Beginning with 2019 data, CMS began releasing a “Preliminary” version of the TAF for each service year to give TAF users earlier access to Medicaid data in the research file format. The Preliminary RIF data is not fully mature because states are still submitting service use records for that year, so users should be aware of this when planning their analytics. The 2020 Preliminary TAFs were created based on services submitted to CMS through July 31, 2021 and will thus have at least 6 months of runout for each month. Once the TAF data for that year are fully mature and include at least 12 months of runout for each month, CMS will release an updated version of the RIFs.

*The TAF research files currently include 7 file types:

  • Annual Demographics and Eligibility (DE)

  • Inpatient (IP)

  • Long-Term Care (LT)

  • Pharmacy (RX)

  • Other Services (OT)

  • Annual Managed Care Plan (APL)

  • Annual Provider (APR)

The DE file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during the calendar year. The IP, LT, RX, and OT files contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments, plus newly available non-person service payments, for Medicaid and CHIP services, organized by service month. The APL file contains information about each Medicaid and CHIP managed care plan/entity that CMS authorized to operate in a state during the calendar year. Finally, the APR file contains information about the providers that are eligible to render services to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries for any month of the year.

TAF data are available for service years 2014 to 2020. Find more information on the data, including record layouts, on this page. To learn how to request TAF data, start here or contact us at resdac@umn.edu or 888-973-7322.

2019 Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 9/30/2021

CMS is pleased to announce that updated Medicaid T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) for service year 2019 are now available. The TAF research files* contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, service use, and payments. They are designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. In December 2020, CMS made "preliminary" TAF enrollment and claims files for service year 2019 available to researchers. This preliminary 2019 RIF data was not fully mature because states were still submitting 2019 service data to CMS. Today's 2019 TAF research file release contains fully mature data, which includes at least 12 months of runout for each service month. Please note, CMS is continuing to work with states to address data quality issues and we anticipate updating the 2019 TAF research files again in 2022.

*The TAF research files currently include 7 file types:

  • Annual Demographics and Eligibility (DE)

  • Inpatient (IP)

  • Long-Term Care (LT)

  • Pharmacy (RX)

  • Other Services (OT)

  • Annual Managed Care Plan (APL)

  • Annual Provider (APR)

The DE file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during the calendar year. The IP, LT, RX, and OT files contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments, plus newly available non-person service payments, for Medicaid and CHIP services, organized by service month. The APL file contains information about each Medicaid and CHIP managed care plan/entity that CMS authorized to operate in a state during the calendar year. Finally, the APR file contains information about the providers that are eligible to render services to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries for any month of the year.

TAF data are available for service years 2014 to 2019. Find more information on the data, including record layouts, on this page. To learn how to request TAF data, start here or contact us at resdac@umn.edu or 888-973-7322.

Updated 2017-2018 Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 9/3/2021

CMS is pleased to announce that updated Medicaid T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) for service years 2017 and 2018 are now available. The TAF research files contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, service use, and payments. In September 2020, CMS made TAF enrollment and claims files* for service years 2017 and 2018 available to researchers. Since that release, CMS has worked diligently with state Medicaid agencies to identify and rectify data quality issues associated with their Medicaid data submissions. As a result, states have begun resubmitting updated Medicaid data with significant improvements to the overall quality of the data. Researchers who request the 2017-2018 TAF data will now get the updated version. Please note, CMS continues to work with states to address data quality issues, and there is a possibility of additional releases in the future for these service years.

Some key improvements include:

  • Newly available claim records which identify non-person service payments, such as lump-sum payments to home and community-based service providers, nonemergency medical transportation providers and value-based payment incentives for plans and providers. These records are sometimes referred to as "service tracking claims”, and are now available to the research community for TAF service years 2017 and 2018. For more information on this new TAF data, please see this ResDAC article.

  • A new variable in all claim file types to distinguish a non-person claim record in the claim TAF research files, "PRSN_CLM_IND", where a '1' indicates a traditional beneficiary claim and '0' indicates a non-person claim record.

  • Annual Plan and Provider TAF research files, which are included in this release to supplement the TAF claims and eligibility research files. With this data, users can link additional plan and provider information to existing beneficiary and claims data and perform more complex analyses by plan and provider.

  • Separate submitting state FIPS codes for the additional entities of three states (Wyoming [WY], Pennsylvania [PA], and Montana [MT]) which submit separate T- MSIS data to CMS for those entities. WY and PA submit separate data for their CHIP entities, while MT submits for its Third-Party Administrator entity. These more granular FIPS codes allow users to easily filter data for the additional entities, and are available in all TAF research file types.

*The TAF research files currently include 7 file types:

  • Annual Demographics and Eligibility (DE)

  • Inpatient (IP)

  • Long-Term Care (LT)

  • Pharmacy (RX)

  • Other Services (OT)

  • Annual Managed Care Plan (APL)

  • Annual Provider (APR)

The DE file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during the calendar year. The IP, LT, RX, and OT files contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments, plus newly available non-person service payments, for Medicaid and CHIP services, organized by service month. The APL file contains information about each Medicaid and CHIP managed care plan/entity that CMS authorized to operate in a state during the calendar year. Finally, the APR file contains information about the providers that are eligible to render services to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries for any month of the year.

Next Generation ACO Model Data Now Available - posted 8/24/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of new Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (NGACO) Model Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Performance Years 1 -3. Two files are available for each performance year. The first file, the NGACO Beneficiary RIF, contains enrollment data for beneficiaries in the NGACO Model. A second file, the NGACO Provider RIF, contains identifying information about the providers participating in the NGACO Model. The Model consists of three initial performance years (2016-2018) and two optional one-year extensions.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation's (CMMI) NGACO Model is an initiative for ACOs that are experienced in coordinating care for populations of patients. It allows these provider groups to assume higher levels of financial risk and reward than are available under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). The goal of the Model is to test whether strong financial incentives for ACOs, coupled with tools to support better patient engagement and care management, can improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures for original Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries.

Questions regarding the NGACO Model can be directed to NextGenerationACOModel@cms.hhs.gov.

The CCW Help Desk email address is changing - posted 7/26/2021

Please use the new CCW Help Desk email address, ccwhelp@ccwdata.org. Emails received at the former email address (CCWHelp@gdit.com) will be forwarded to the new email address for a limited time.

New Comprehensive ESRD Care (CEC) RIF Data Available - posted 7/8/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of two new RIFs that contain data from the Comprehensive ESRD Care (CEC) Model. The first file, the CEC Beneficiary RIF, contains enrollment data for beneficiaries in the CEC Model. A second file, the CEC Provider RIF, contains identifying information about the providers participating in the CEC Model.

The CEC Model is designed to identify, test, and evaluate new ways to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Through the CEC Model, CMS will partner with health care providers and suppliers to test the effectiveness of a new payment and service delivery model in providing beneficiaries with person-centered, high-quality care. The CEC Mode! builds on Accountable Care Organization experience from the Pioneer ACO Model, Next Generation ACO Model, and the Medicare Shared Savings Program to test Accountable Care Organizations for ESRD beneficiaries.

New Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 6/3/2021

CMS is pleased to announce the release of two new annual files to the suite of research files based on state Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) submissions, called T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs). Today's release includes the first version of the Annual Managed Care Plan (APL) and Annual Provider (APR) TAFs for calendar years 2014-2016. With this release, users can link additional plan and provider information to existing beneficiary and claims data and perform more complete analyses by plan and provider. The APL and APR TAFs will be included in all future RIF releases.

The TAFs include annual files that contain demographic and eligibility information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, as well as claims files that contain service use and payment records. They are designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. This release is adding two new annual files for managed care plans (APL) and providers (APR) increasing the number of annual files now available to researchers. Data can be obtained for a particular state, group of states, or a national sample with an approved Data Use Agreement.

Encounter Data - posted 5/28/2021

The Preliminary Medicare Advantage (Part C) Encounter Data Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Year 2019 are now available. See the data dictionaries and user guide for file details These files are created from data submitted to CMS by Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) that provide services to beneficiaries under the Medicare Part C benefit.

2019 Preliminary Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 12/16/2020

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of Preliminary Medicaid T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) for calendar year 2019. Beginning with 2019 data, CMS plans to release a “Preliminary” version of the TAF RIF for each service year to give TAF users earlier access to Medicaid data in the research file format. The Preliminary RIF data is not fully mature because states are still submitting service use records for that year, so users should be aware of this when planning their analytics. The 2019 Preliminary TAF RIFs were created based on services submitted to CMS through June 30, 2020 and will thus have at least 6 months of runout for each month. Once the TAF data for that year are fully mature and include at least 12 months of runout for each month, CMS will release an updated version of the RIFs.

The research-ready TAFs contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, diagnoses, service use, and payments. They are designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. The TAFs include 5 annual files, an enrollment file and four claims/billing files. The annual Demographic and Eligibility (DE) file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during each calendar year. The Inpatient (IP) file, Long-Term Care (LT) file, Pharmacy (RX) file, and the Other Services (OT) file contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments for Medicaid and CHIP services.

Data can be obtained for a particular state, group of states, or a national sample. With this release, TAF data are available for the period from 2014 to 2019. Find more information on the data, including record layouts, on the Data Dictionaries page. To learn how to request TAF data, start here or contact ResDAC at resdac@umn.edu or 888-973-7322.

Updated 2014-2016 Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 11/19/2020

The research-ready T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) contain data on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, service use, and payments. In November 2019, CMS made TAF enrollment and claims files* for service years 2014, 2015, and 2016 available to researchers. Since that release, CMS has worked diligently with state Medicaid agencies to identify and rectify data quality issues associated with their Medicaid data submissions. As a result, states have begun resubmitting updated Medicaid data back to 2014 with significant improvements to the overall quality of the data. Researchers who request the 2014-2016 TAF data will now get the updated version.

Some key improvements include:

  • New TAF research files for Puerto Rico and Arkansas, both of which were not included in the November 2019 TAF RIF release due to data quality concerns. TAF RIFs will be available for Puerto Rico for service years 2015 and 2016, and for Arkansas for service year 2016.

  • The quality of TAF Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data has improved such that the number of states whose enrollment volume differed from a key enrollment benchmark by more than 10% has dropped from 14 to 6. For more information about the rerun 2014-2016 TAF research files, including state-specific information, please contact ResDAC.

*The TAFs currently include 5 files, an enrollment file and four claims files. The annual Demographic and Eligibility (DE) file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during each calendar year. The Inpatient (IP) file, Long-Term Care (LT) file, Pharmacy (RX) file, and the Other Services (OT) file contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments for Medicaid and CHIP services, organized by service month.

Encounter Data - posted 11/4/2020

Medicare Advantage (Part C) Encounter Data Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Year 2018 are now available. See the Record Layout and User Guide for file details. These files are created from data submitted to CMS by Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) that provide services to beneficiaries under the Medicare Part C benefit.

2017-2018 Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 09/16/2020

CMS is pleased to announce the availability of the Medicaid T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) for calendar years 2017-2018 (Release 1). The research-ready TAFs contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, diagnoses, service use, and payments. They are designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. Please note, CMS is continuing to work with states to address data quality issues and we anticipate releasing an updated version of the 2017-2018 TAFs (Release 2) in 2021.

The TAFs include 5 annual files, an enrollment file and four claims/billing files. The annual Demographic and Eligibility (DE) file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during each calendar year. The Inpatient (IP) file, Long-Term Care (LT) file, Pharmacy (RX) file, and the Other Services (OT) file contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments for Medicaid and CHIP services.

Data can be obtained for a particular state, group of states, or a national sample. With this release, TAF data are available for the period from 2014 to 2018. Find more information on the data, including record layouts, on this page that lists all TAF files. To learn how to request TAF data, start here or contact ResDAC at 888-973-7322.

Encounter Data - posted 05/28/2020

Medicare Advantage (Part C) Encounter Data Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Year 2017 are now available. See the Record Layout and User Guide for file details. These files are created from data submitted to CMS by Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) that provide services to beneficiaries under the Medicare Part C benefit.

New Medicaid and CHIP Data Now Available - posted 11/07/2019

The research-ready T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAFs) contain data on Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiary demographics, program enrollment, service use, and payments. In consultation with Medicaid policy and data subject matter experts, they were designed to meet the diverse research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. As the next generation of research-ready national data on these critical programs, they replace the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) files. The TAFs currently include 5 files, an enrollment file and four claims files. The annual Demographic and Eligibility (DE) file contains demographic, eligibility and enrollment information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries enrolled for at least one day during each calendar year. The Inpatient (IP) file, Long-Term Care (LT), Pharmacy (RX), and Other Services (OT) file contain fee-for-service claims, managed care encounter claims, and per-person-per-month capitated payments for Medicaid and CHIP services, organized by service month.

CMS is continuing to work with States to address data quality issues. As new versions of these files become available, they will be announced on The Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC) website.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Indicator now available in the CCW - posted 06/19/2019

Algorithm and reference documentation is available for a new CCW sickle cell disease (SCD) indicator for use with Medicare and Medicaid administrative claims data.

Medicare Risk Score Files - Posted 07/30/2018

Medicare Risk Score Research Identifiable Files (RIFs) for Payment Year 2014 (PY14) are now available. See the Record Layout and User Guide for file details. Risk scores are used to adjust payments to Medicare Advantage plans to account for differences in relative costs among plan enrollees.

Updated National Death Index (NDI) Data - posted 04/27/2018

NDI Cause of Death Information from 1999-2016 for Medicare beneficiaries and 1999-2013 for Medicaid recipients is now available. See the Record Layout and Codebook for more details.

Introduction to the CCW Video - posted 05/07/2015

View the new Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse informational video to learn how you can… Access… Analyze… and Aggregate… All the data you need… Like never before.

CMS Virtual Research Data Center - posted 11/12/2013

The CMS Virtual Research Data Center (VRDC) is an alternative solution for accessing and analyzing CMS data for research purposes. To learn more about getting data for your research, view the CMS VRDC FAQs and visit the ResDAC website.