BMAD Beneficiary File

This file includes data from all Medicare Part B carriers. The file contains detailed line item information from claims submitted by a 5 percent sample of aged and disabled beneficiaries, as well as for all end-stage renal disease (ESRD) beneficiaries. The file does not contain Part B charge data for institutional services (hospital outpatient departments, home health care agencies, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, end-stage renal disease facilities, and rural health clinics), which are processed by Medicare Part A intermediaries. The file also does not contain data for beneficiaries enrolled in HMOs.

 

Source: HCFA

Size: ~10 GB / year

Years: 1987 - 1991 (annually, by calendar year) See SAF files for later years.

Media: Original: 9-track tape, 3480 for 1991; Current: DAT

Format: ASCII Varying Record Lengths (after conversion from EBCDIC Varying Record Lengths)

RecordLength: EBCDIC Version: maximum 783; maximum 1347 in 1991 ASCII version: ID Records = 40; Charge records = 109 ASCII in 1991: ID Records = 98; Charge records = 140

Structure: EBCDIC Version: 1 record contains 1 Master record portion per Beneficiary, followed by up to ten (thirteen for 1991) Line Item record portions per Claim ASCII Version: 1 Beneficiary ID record per Beneficiary, associated with up to ten (thirteen for 1991) Charge records per Claim

Complexity: Complex; requires custom coding to extract necessary data from Master Tapes containing records of varying formats and length.

Restrictions: Use restricted by HCFA data agreements.