Apr 26 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health and Human Services (HHS), invites comments by June 25, 2024 regarding the planned renewal of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS).
The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is the most comprehensive and complete survey available on the Medicare population and is essential in capturing data not otherwise collected through our operations. The MCBS is a nationally-representative, longitudinal survey of Medicare beneficiaries that we sponsor and is directed by the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics (OEDA). MCBS data collection includes both in-person and phone interviewing. The survey captures beneficiary information whether aged or disabled, living in the community or facility, or serviced by managed care or fee-for-service. Data produced as part of the MCBS are enhanced with our administrative data (e.g., fee-for-service claims, prescription drug event data, enrollment, etc.) to provide users with more accurate and complete estimates of total health care costs and utilization. The MCBS has been continuously fielded for more than 30 years, encompassing over 1.2 million interviews and more than 140,000 survey participants. Respondents participate in up to 11 interviews over a four-year period. This gives a comprehensive picture of health care costs and utilization over a period of time.
The MCBS continues to provide unique insight into the Medicare program and helps CMS and our external stakeholders better understand and evaluate the impact of existing programs and significant new policy initiatives. In the past, MCBS data have been used to assess potential changes to the Medicare program. For example, the MCBS was instrumental in supporting the development and implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit by providing a means to evaluate prescription drug costs and out-of-pocket burden for these drugs to Medicare beneficiaries.
MCBS:
https://data.cms.gov/medicare-current-beneficiary-survey-mcbs
Draft data collection instrument and technical documentation:
https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/paperworkreductionactof1995/pra-listing-items/cms-p-0015a
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-08921
