Expanding Healthcare Research Capacities through the Integration of Medicaid and

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This STTR application requests funding to expand the capabilities of Acumen LLC's Medicare/Medicaid Research Information Center (MedRIC). To advance the quality of the data available for public policy research, MedRIC facilitates the acquisition of data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participants of surveys and registries sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). By linking administrative and survey data into a cohesive structure,Acumen will significantly reduce the financial and time costs that researchers currently bear to acquire and use CMS administrative data. Although MedRIC has already linked NIA survey data to Medicare enrollment and claims files, this project will augmentthese efforts to include linkages to Medicaid claims databases. By successfully expanding MedRIC's capabilities, this project will significantly reduce the burden that researchers and policy analysts face as they investigate health care utilization, quality, and expenditure patterns among low- income individuals, children, and pregnant women.