For the persons with a cancer diagnosis, investigators may link individual patients across files using the unique SEER case ID number. The SEER case ID number consists of an 8-digit case number and a 2-digit registry ID which when combined, uniquely identify each individual in the data.
Full Answer
Where can I find beneficiary death information for Medicare?
Beneficiary death information is available in several of the Medicare enrollment files. Limited death information is also found in other files, such as the MedPAR. This article describes the variables found in each.
How do I report a death with Medicare?
Report a death. To report the death of a person with Medicare: Make sure you have the person's Social Security Number. Call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778)
How are Medicare beneficiaries classified as having disability?
For purposes of predicting self-reported disability (based on the intermediate MCBS measure), we classify Medicare beneficiaries ages 18-64 as having disability if their predicted value is greater than 0.45. Age 65 or Older
What are the death-related variables in the Medicare enrollment data?
There are three death-related variables in the Medicare enrollment data: Valid Date of Death Switch (BENE_VALID_DEATH_DT_SW): This variable indicates that day within the month of death has been validated. When the day of death within the month has not been validated, the death date is set to the last day of the month of death.
How long does it take for a death to be confirmed by Medicare?
The vast majority of deaths are known to Medicare within 2-3 months. The Vital Status file does not include information on whether or not a death date is validated. A comparison of the MBSF and Vital Status files has confirmed that death dates that are not validated within the MBSF are the same dates as in the Vital Status file.
Where is the beneficiary's death date?
A beneficiary’s date of death is available in the Master Beneficiary Summary File (previously known as the Beneficiary Summary File or Denominator) and the Vital Status File. For beneficiaries that die during an inpatient or skilled nursing facility stay, date of death is also available on the MedPAR file.
What percentage of Medicare beneficiaries are RRB?
RRB beneficiaries comprise a very small percentage of all Medicare beneficiaries; approximately 2% of all beneficiary deaths are RRB beneficiaries and 98% are SSA beneficiaries. NDI (National Death Index) Cause of Death. The NDI cause of death information is currently available for Medicare deaths that occurred between 1999 and 2016.
When is the death date set to the last day of the month?
When the day of death within the month has not been validated, the death date is set to the last day of the month of death. Therefore, if there is a date included in the “Date of Death” variable, the “Valid Date of Death Switch” should be checked to see if the exact day has been validated.
Is a death date included in a MedPAR?
If a death date is present in the enrollment database at the time the MedPAR is created, it is included in the file. The death date is not necessarily limited to the calendar year of the MedPAR.
Purpose
For data years 2006 and forward, dually eligible Medicare beneficiaries are identified in the Medicare Master Beneficiary Summary File, Base segment. Initially available only as a RIF, this file was released as an LDS file in 2016. The monthly variable “Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligibility” identifies dual status.
Article Information
ResDAC would also like to acknowledge Sarah Garcia for assistance with this article.
Breadcrumb
Identifying Medicare Beneficiaries with Disabilities: Improving on Claims-Based Algorithms
ABSTRACT
We use data on fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who first responded to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey in 2003-2006 to assess the feasibility of using existing claims-based indicators to identify community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries with disability based solely on the conditions for which they are being treated.
ACRONYMS
The following acronyms are mentioned in this report and/or appendices.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Objectives: (1) To assess the feasibility of using existing claims-based algorithms to identify community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries with disability based solely on the conditions for which they are being treated; and (2) to improve upon these algorithms by combining them in predictive models.
INTRODUCTION
Research on disability services is a top priority in the United States because people with disabilities have considerable need for long-term services and supports (Iezzoni 2013).
METHODS
The MCBS is a rotating panel survey in which four overlapping panels of Medicare beneficiaries are surveyed each year (Murgolo 2010). Each panel includes a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Respondents are interviewed in person three times a year for four years.
RESULTS
In Table 1, we show the percentages of Medicare beneficiaries in the study population classified as having a disability by each of the self-reported or claims-based disability indicators.