The EPA Systematizes BCA Under the CAA

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CMS is pleased to announce the availability of the 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) LDS research files.  Documentation related to the 2018 MCBS Survey File is also now available and can be found on the MCBS website: 2018 MCBS Survey File LDS Documentation and Codebooks.   New to the MCBS for 2018 is a series of questions related to Medicare beneficiaries’ experience with chronic pain.  An infographic highlighting this data is available here: 2018 MCBS Chronic Pain Infographic.

Requests for the 2018 MCBS LDS files must be made through the CMS DUA tracking system (EPPE).   EPPE can be used to initiate a new LDS DUA request or to amend/update an existing LDS DUA.  Requests for the 2018 MCBS should include the “2018 MCBS Survey File Only” or the “2018 MCBS Survey File Plus Cost Supplement” depending on which product you need (a follow-up notification will be sent later in the year when the 2018 MCBS Cost Supplement becomes available).  Instructions for accessing and using EPPE to make a request can be found here: Files-for-Order-DUA-LDS.

All shipments of MCBS data will be sent from CMS’s data fulfillment contractor, HealthAPT.  Those who have already updated their DUA to include the 2018 MCBS data will have their data automatically shipped and should be on the lookout for a package from HealthAPT.