Matching MCBS and Medicare Data: The Best of Both Worlds

Survey reports from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) were matched to Medicare administrative files to create the 1992 MCBS Cost and Use file. This file improves on previous MCBS Access-to-Care user files by representing the entire (ever enrolled) Medicare population and including services not covered by Medicare such as outpatient prescription drugs and long-term facility care. The matching and reconciliation process improved the accuracy and completeness of health care use and cost. For example, Medicare billing data corrected 22 percent of survey reports that did not record Medicare as a payer and 39 percent in which the amount was missing.