Medicare & Medicaid Resource Information Center (MedRIC)

Shape the science of health and aging by using National Institute on Aging (NIA)-funded study data, linked to Medicare and Medicaid claims data through a virtual platform to conduct your research at no cost.

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About MedRIC

As an NIA contractor, the Medicare and Medicaid Resource Information Center (MedRIC) provides expert-developed resources to support Medicare and Medicaid data research, including:

  • Access to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data linked to NIA-supported study data;

  • Access to an Enclave—a federally secure and ready-to-use virtual platform for data analysis; and

  • Technical support from experts.

These resources are available free to NIA-grantees and U.S. based researchers.

Discover the Benefits of Working with MedRIC

MedRIC offers a wide range of linked data including Medicare Parts A and B (1991-current), Medicare Part C (2015-current), Medicare Part D (2006-current), Medicare-Managed Assessments (1999-current), and Medicaid data (1999-current). The Enclave includes statistical software, MedRIC-developed tools, and business software to support your analytic needs. For more information, visit the Data & Enclave page.

Learn more about the benefits for researchers and studies:

MEDRIC-AFFILIATED RESEARCHER BENEFITS

If you’re a researcher working in the United States, you could be eligible to request CMS-linked data sets for your research.

Researchers can:

  • Obtain a CMS data subset for NIA-supported study cohorts and securely access these sensitive data sets through the Enclave at no cost.

  • Conduct a wide range of secondary research analyses, from studying health outcomes related to COVID-19 to understanding the effects of dementia on minorities.

  • Learn how other researchers have used CMS-linked data sets to produce high-impact research findings by visiting the Bibliography page.

MEDRIC STUDY PARTNER BENEFITS

If you're running a study with an active NIA grant that is collecting data about aging or vulnerable populations, you could be eligible to link your data with CMS claims data and more.

Studies can:

  • House and manage your data sources alongside your CMS-linked data in the Enclave, which you directly control without spending substantial funds to set up.

  • Handle the challenges of linking your data to CMS records, design CMS data files that meet your Institutional Review Board (IRB) commitments, and subset CMS data to your NIA-supported study cohort.

  • Expand the number of potential researchers requesting and potentially working with your data sources.

Studies retain all rights and ownership of their own data.

Getting Started

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researcher data request process

To start the researcher data request process, visit the Make a New CMS Data Request page. In addition, you can download the Data Request materials (Non-NHATS Researchers) or Data Request materials (NHATS Researchers).

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study partnership process

To start the study partnership process and learn more about how to request data, visit the Partnership: Join MedRIC page. In addition, you can download the Study Data Request materials.