Content created by Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Division
System Name: "Medicare Beneficiary Database (MBD), HHS/CMS/CBC."
Security Classification: Level Three Privacy Act Sensitive Data.
System Location(s):
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Data Center, 7500 Security Boulevard, North Building, First Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.
Categories of Individuals Covered by the System: Individuals age 65 or over who have been, or currently are, entitled to health insurance (Medicare) benefits under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (the Act) or under provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act; individuals under age 65 who have been, or currently are, entitled to such benefits on the basis of having been entitled for not less that 24 months to disability benefits under Title II of the Act or under the Railroad Retirement Act; individuals who have been, or currently are, entitled to such benefits because they have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD); individuals age 64 and 8 months or over who are likely to become entitled to health insurance (Medicare) benefits upon attaining age 65, and individuals under age 65 who have at least 21 months of disability benefits who are likely to become entitled to Medicare upon the 25th month or entitlement to such benefits and those populations that are dually eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (Title XIX of the Act).
Categories of Records in the System: Information maintained in the system include, but are not limited to: Standard data for identification such as health insurance claim number, social security number, gender, race/ethnicity, date of birth, geographic location, Medicare enrollment and entitlement information, MSP data necessary for appropriate Medicare claim payment, hospice election, MA plan elections and enrollment, End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) entitlement, historic and current listing of residences, and Medicare eligibility and Managed Care institutional status.
Authority for Maintenance of the System: The primary purpose of this modified system is to provide CMS with a singular, authoritative, database of comprehensive enrollment data on individuals in the Medicare program to support ongoing and expanded program administration, service delivery modalities, and payment coverage options. This collection will contain a complete "beneficiary insurance profile" that reflects the individual's Medicare health insurance coverage and Medicare health plan and demonstration enrollment. Information retrieved from this system of records will also be disclosed to: (1) Support regulatory, reimbursement, and policy functions performed within the agency or by a contractor, consultant or a CMS grantee; (2) assist another Federal or State agency, agency of a State government, an agency established by State law, or its fiscal agent; (3) support providers and suppliers of services for administration of Title XVIII; (4) assist third parties where the contact is expected to have information relating to the individual's capacity to manage his or her own affairs; (5) support Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO); (6) assist other insurers for processing individual insurance claims; (7) facilitate research on the quality and effectiveness of care provided, as well as payment related projects; (8) support Patient Assistance Programs and other groups providing pharmaceutical assistance or services to Medicare beneficiaries; (9) support litigation involving the agency; and (10) combat fraud, waste, and abuse in certain health benefits programs.
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of such Uses:
A.
The Privacy Act allows us to disclose information without an individual's consent if the information is to be used for a purpose that is compatible with the purpose(s) for which the information was collected. Any such compatible use of data is known as a "routine use." The proposed routine uses in this system meet the compatibility requirement of the Privacy Act. We are modifying/altering the routine use disclosures of information maintained in the system so that the routine uses include the following:
1. To support agency contractors, consultants or grantees who have been engaged by the agency to assist in the performance of a service related to this system and who need to have access to the records in order to perform the activity.
2. To assist another Federal or State agency, agency of a State government, an agency established by State law, or its fiscal agent to:
a. Contribute to the accuracy of CMS' proper payment of Medicare benefits,
b. Enable such agency to administer a Federal health benefits program, or as necessary to enable such agency to fulfill a requirement of a Federal statute or regulation that implements a health benefits program funded in whole or in part with Federal funds, and/or
c. Assist Federal/State Medicaid programs within the State.
3. To assist providers and suppliers of services directly or through fiscal intermediaries or carriers for the administration of Title XVIII of the Act.
4. To assist third party contact in situations where the party to be contacted has, or is expected to have information relating to the individual's capacity to manage his or her affairs or to his or her eligibility for, or an entitlement to, benefits under the Medicare program and;
a. The individual is unable to provide the information being sought (an individual is considered to be unable to provide certain types of information when any of the following conditions exists: The individual is confined to a mental institution, a court of competent jurisdiction has appointed a guardian to manage the affairs of that individual, a court of competent jurisdiction has declared the individual to be mentally incompetent, or the individual's attending physician has certified that the individual is not sufficiently mentally competent to manage his or her own affairs or to provide the information being sought, the individual cannot read or write, cannot afford the cost of obtaining the information, a language barrier exists, or the custodian of the information will not, as a matter of policy, provide it to the individual), or
b. The data are needed to establish the validity of evidence or to verify the accuracy of information presented by the individual, and it concerns one or more of the following: The individual's entitlement to benefits under the Medicare program, the amount of reimbursement, and in cases in which the evidence is being reviewed as a result of suspected fraud and abuse, program integrity, quality appraisal, or evaluation and measurement of activities.
5. To support Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) in connection with review of claims, or in connection with studies or other review activities conducted pursuant to Part B of Title XI of the Act, and in performing affirmative outreach activities to individuals for the purpose of establishing and maintaining their entitlement to Medicare benefits or health insurance plans. As established by the Part D Program, QIOs will conduct reviews of prescription drug events data, or in connection with studies or other review activities conducted pursuant to Part D of Title XVIII of the Act.
6. To other insurers, underwriters, third party administrators (TPAs), self-insurers, group health plans, employers, health maintenance organizations, health and welfare benefit funds, Federal agencies, a State or local government or political subdivision of either (when the organization has assumed the role of an insurer, underwriter, or third party administrator, or in the case of a State that assumes the liabilities of an insolvent insurers pool or fund), multiple-employers trusts, no-fault medical, automobile insurers, workers' compensation carriers plans, liability insurers, and other groups providing protection against medical expenses who are primary payers to Medicare in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b), or any entity having knowledge of the occurrence of any event affecting;
a. An individual's right to any such benefit or payment, or
b. The initial or continued right to any such benefit or payment (for example, a State Medicaid Agency, State Workers' Compensation Board, or Department of Motor Vehicles) for the purpose of coordination of benefits with the Medicare program and implementation of the MSP provisions at 42 U.S.C. 1395 y(b). The information CMS may disclose will be:
Beneficiary Name
Beneficiary Address
Beneficiary Health Insurance Claim Number
Beneficiary Social Security Number
Beneficiary Gender
Beneficiary Date of Birth
Amount of Medicare Conditional Payment
Provider Name and Number
Physician Name and Number
Supplier Name and Number
Dates of Service
Nature of Service
Diagnosis
To administer the MSP provision at 42 U.S.C. 1395 y(b)(2), (3), and (4) more effectively, CMS would receive (to the extent that it is available) and may disclose the following types of information from insurers, underwriters, third party administrator, self-insurers, etc.:
Subscriber Name and Address
Subscriber Date of Birth
Subscriber Social Security number
Dependent Name
Dependent Date of Birth
Dependent Social Security Number
Dependent Relationship to Subscriber
Insurer/Underwriter/TPA Name and Address
Insurer/Underwriter/TPA Group Number
Insurer/Underwriter/Group Name
Prescription Drug Coverage
Policy Number
Effective Date of Coverage
Employer Name, Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Address
Employment Status
Amounts of Payment
To administer the MSP provision at 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)(1) more effectively for entities such as Workers' Compensation carriers or boards, liability insurers, no-fault and automobile medical policies or plans, CMS would receive (to the extent that it is available) and may disclose the following information:
Beneficiary's Name and Address
Beneficiary's Date of Birth
Beneficiary's Social Security number
Name of Insured
Insurer Name and Address
Type of coverage; automobile medical, no-fault, liability payment, or workers' compensation settlement
Insured's Policy Number
Effective Date of Coverage
Date of accident, injury or illness
Amount of payment under liability, no-fault, or automobile medical policies, plans, and workers' compensation settlements
Employer Name and Address (Workers' Compensation Only)
Name of insured could be the driver of the car, a business, the beneficiary (i.e., the name of the individual or entity which carries the insurance policy or plan)
In order to receive this information the entity must agree to the following conditions;
c. To utilize the information solely for the purpose of coordination of benefits with the Medicare program and other third party payer in accordance with Title 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b);
d. To safeguard the confidentiality of the data and to prevent unauthorized access to it; and
e. To prohibit the use of beneficiary-specific data for the purposes other than for the coordination of benefits among third party payers and the Medicare program. This agreement would allow the entities to use the information to determine cases where they or other third party payers have primary responsibility for payment. Examples of prohibited uses would include but are not limited to; creation of a mailing list, sale or transfer of data.
To administer the MSP provisions more effectively, CMS may receive or disclose the following types of information from or to entities including insurers, underwriters, TPAs, and self-insured plans, concerning potentially affected individuals:
Subscriber HICN
Dependent Name
Funding arrangements of employer group health plans, for example, contributory or non-contributory plan, self-insured, re- insured, HMO, TPA insurance
Claims payment information, for example, the amount paid, the date of payment, the name of the insurers or payer
Dates of employment including termination date, if appropriate
Number of full and/or part-time employees in the current and preceding calendar years
Employment status of subscriber, for example, full or part time or self-employed
7. To assist an individual or organization for a research project or in support of an evaluation project related to the prevention of disease or disability, the restoration or maintenance of health, or payment related projects.
8. To support Patient Assistance Programs and other groups providing pharmaceutical assistance to a Medicare beneficiary. Medicare Part D enrollment information may be released to these organizations upon specific request, and then only if they meet the following requirements, they must:
a. Provide an attestation or other qualifying information that they are providing pharmaceutical assistance to Medicare beneficiaries;
b. Submit a finder file to CMS to identify Medicare beneficiaries receiving pharmaceutical assistance and/or services consisting of the following data elements:
(1) First initial of the first name,
(2) First 6 letters of the last name,
(3) Social security number or health insurance claims number,
(4) Date of birth,
(5) Sex;
c. Safeguard the confidentiality of any data received and prevent unauthorized access to the data; and
d. Complete a written statement attesting to the information recipient's understanding of and willingness to abide by CMS provisions regarding Privacy protections and information security. Recipients of CMS data must complete the PAP Data Sharing Agreement prior to the release of CMS data.
9. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), court or adjudicatory body when:
a. The agency or any component thereof, or
b. Any employee of the agency in his or her official capacity, or
c. Any employee of the agency in his or her individual capacity where the DOJ has agreed to represent the employee, or
d. The United States Government is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful review, CMS determines that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and that the use of such records by the DOJ, court or adjudicatory body is compatible with the purpose for which the agency collected the records.
10. To a CMS contractor (including, but not necessarily limited to fiscal intermediaries and carriers) that assists in the administration of a CMS-administered health benefits program, or to a grantee of a CMS-administered grant program, when disclosure is deemed reasonably necessary by CMS to prevent, deter, discover, detect, investigate, examine, prosecute, sue with respect to, defend against, correct, remedy, or otherwise combat fraud, waste or abuse in such program.
11. To another Federal agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States (including any State or local governmental agency), that administers, or that has the authority to investigate potential fraud, waste or abuse in, a health benefits program funded in whole or in part by Federal funds, when disclosure is deemed reasonably necessary by CMS to prevent, deter, discover, detect, investigate, examine, prosecute, sue with respect to, defend against, correct, remedy, or otherwise combat fraud, waste or abuse in such programs.
B. Additional Provisions Affecting Routine Use Disclosures
To the extent this system contains Protected Health Information (PHI) as defined by HHS regulation "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information" (45 CFR parts 160 and 164, subparts A and E) 65 FR 82462 (12-28-00). Disclosures of such PHI that are otherwise authorized by these routine uses may only be made if, and as, permitted or required by the "Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information." (See 45 CFR 164.512 (a)(1).)
In addition, our policy will be to prohibit release even of data not directly identifiable, except pursuant to one of the routine uses or if required by law, if we determine there is a possibility that an individual can be identified through implicit deduction based on small cell sizes (instances where the patient population is so small that individuals could, because of the small size, use this information to deduce the identity of the beneficiary).
Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, and Disposing of Records in the System—
Storage: All records are stored electronically.
Retrievability: All Medicare records are accessible by HICN, and SSN search. This system supports both on-line and batch access.
Safeguards: CMS has safeguards in place for authorized users and monitors such users to ensure against unauthorized use. Personnel having access to the system have been trained in the Privacy Act and information security requirements. Employees who maintain records in this system are instructed not to release data until the intended recipient agrees to implement appropriate management, operational and technical safeguards sufficient to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information and information systems and to prevent unauthorized access.
This system will conform to all applicable Federal laws and regulations and Federal, HHS, and CMS policies and standards as they relate to information security and data privacy. These laws and regulations may apply but are not limited to: The Privacy Act of 1974; the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002; the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996; the E-Government Act of 2002, the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996; the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, and the corresponding implementing regulations. OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Resources, Appendix III, Security of Federal Automated Information Resources also applies. Federal, HHS, and CMS policies and standards include but are not limited to: All pertinent National Institute of Standards and Technology publications; the HHS Information Systems Program Handbook and the CMS Information Security Handbook.
Retention and Disposal: Records are maintained in the active files for a period of 15 years. The records are then retired to archival files maintained at the Health Care Data Center. All claims-related records are encompassed by the document preservation order and will be retained until notification is received from DOJ.
System Manager(s) and Address(es):
Director, Division of Enrollment and Eligibility Policy, Medicare Enrollment and Appeals Group, Center for Beneficiary Choices, CMS, Mail Stop S1-05-06, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.
Notification Procedure: For purpose of access, the subject individual should write to the system manager who will require the system name, HICN, address, date of birth, and gender, and for verification purposes, the subject individual's name (woman's maiden name, if applicable), and SSN. Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it may make searching for a record easier and prevent delay.
Record Access Procedures: For purpose of access, use the same procedures outlined in Notification Procedures above. Requestors should also specify the record contents being sought. (These procedures are in accordance with department regulation 45 CFR 5b.5(a)(2).)
Contesting Record Procedures: The subject individual should contact the system manager named above, and reasonably identify the records and specify the information to be contested. State the corrective action sought and the reasons for the correction with supporting justification. (These Procedures are in accordance with Department regulation 45 CFR 5b.7.)
Record Source Categories: The data contained in this system of records are extracted from other CMS systems of records: Enrollment Database, Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug System, and the Medicaid Statistical Information System. Information will also be provided from the application submitted by the individual through State Medicaid agencies, the Social Security Administration and through other entities assisting beneficiaries.
Systems Exempted from Certain Provisions of the Act: None.
Appendix A. Health Insurance Records
Medicare records are maintained at the CMS Central Office (see section 1 below for the address). Health Insurance Records of the Medicare program can also be accessed through a representative of the CMS Regional Office (see section 2 below for addresses). Medicare records are also maintained by private insurance organizations that share in administering provisions of the health insurance programs. These private insurance organizations, referred to as Managed Care Organizations, are under contract to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration to perform specific task in the Medicare program (see section three below for information on MCOs).
1. Central Office Address: CMS Data Center, 7500 Security Boulevard, North Building, First Floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.
2. CMS Regional Offices: BOSTON REGION--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont. John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Room 1211, Boston, Massachusetts 02203. Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
NEW YORK REGION--New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. 26 Federal Plaza, Room 715, New York, New York 10007, Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA REGION--Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia. Post Office Box 8460, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101. Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
ATLANTA REGION--Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee. 101 Marietta Street, Suite 702, Atlanta, Georgia 30223, Office Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
CHICAGO REGION--Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin. Suite A--824, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
DALLAS REGION--Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, 1200 Main Tower Building, Dallas, Texas. Office Hours: 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
KANSAS CITY REGION--Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska. New Federal Office Building, 601 East 12th Street, Room 436, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
DENVER REGION--Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. Federal Office Building, 1961 Stout Street, Room 1185, Denver, Colorado 80294. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO REGION--American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada. Federal Office Building, 10 Van Ness Avenue, 20th Floor, San Francisco, California 94102. Office Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
SEATTLE REGION--Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington. 1321 Second Avenue, Room 615, Mail Stop 211, Seattle, Washington 98101. Office Hours 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
3. Managed Care Organizations: Monthly report of Managed Care Organizations is available at www.cms.gov.