Public Data resources on Chronic conditions among Medicare Beneficiaries
As part of CMS’ efforts to support the data-driven decision making essential for health care transformation, we have just released new and updated information on chronic conditions among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. The public data are available from the CMwebsite,http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Chronic-Conditions/index.html and include data on prevalence, utilization of select Medicare services, and Medicare spending.
- New chronic conditions – chronic viral hepatitis (B & C), HIV/AIDS;
- New Interactive Atlas of Chronic Conditions – a GIS tool to examine geographic variability in chronic conditions;
- Updated geographic data for the years 2007-2014 summarized to national, state, county, and hospital referral regions levels;
- Updated interactive dashboards with 2014 data.
These public data resources provide researchers and policymakers a better understanding of the burden of chronic conditions among beneficiaries and the implications for our health care system. Information on prevalence, utilization, and Medicare spending for specific chronic conditions and multiple chronic conditions demonstrates the overall burden and complexity of chronic conditions among Medicare beneficiaries and can be used to inform policymakers, local health leaders, providers, and health systems about resource utilization of patients with chronic diseases. This information can be used to improve care coordination and health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries living with chronic conditions.
New Medicare utilization and payment data available for home health agencies
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new dataset, the Home Health Agency Utilization and Payment Public Use File (Home Health Agency PUF). This data set, which is part of CMS’s Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data set, details information on services provided to Medicare beneficiaries by home health agencies. The Home Health Agency PUF contains information on utilization, payment, and submitted charges organized by provider, Home Health Resource Group (HHRG), and state of service. These new data include information on 11,062 home health agencies, over 6 million claims, and over $18 billion in Medicare payments for 2013.
