Available data
The NIA Data LINKAGE program offers researchers the opportunity to access and link their study data sets to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data. Raw data files are not available.
Learn more about the data available below or discover how you can access, share, and analyze LINKAGE data.
On this page:
CMS data available in LINKAGE
NIA-funded study data can be linked with CMS data. Available data include:
Raw CMS claims data:
- Longitudinal datasets that fully track beneficiaries across time.
- File layout alignments enabled to streamline programming.
- Granular health care service details that allow for robust analyses.
Summary CMS data:
- Summary of health services over time (such as the number of emergency room visits and number of days in an inpatient facility).
- Aggregated variables that define chronic or disabling conditions based on validated algorithms.
CMS data sets and years of data available, include:
- Medicare Parts A and B: 1991 - 2021
- Medicare Part C: 2015 - 2019
- Medicare Part D: 2016 - 2021
- Medicare Assessment Data: 1999- 2021
- Medicare Enrollment Data: 1991 – 2021
- Medicaid Data: 1999 – 2019
CMS data sets are updated annually.
NIA-funded studies linked to CMS data
Below you can view NIA-funded studies that are currently linked to CMS data in the NIA Data LINKAGE Program. Researchers can view and analyze linked data from these studies. Studies marked with an asterisk (*) are currently accepting researcher requests for data sharing. To learn more about gaining access, please contact LINKAGE@acumenllc.com.
- *Boston Early Adversity & Mortality Study (BEAMS): BEAMS brings together diverse data to provide a comprehensive picture on the early life conditions of persons who were born in the late 19th and early 20th century and have been studied closely for most of their lives.
- *Health and Retirement Study (HRS): Starting in 1992, HRS is a longitudinal panel study that explores the changes in labor force participation and the health transitions that individuals undergo toward the end of their work lives and in the years that follow.
- LONG LIFE Family Study (LLFS): Established in 2005, LLFS is an international collaborative study of the genetics and familial components of exceptional survival, longevity, and healthy aging.
- Midlife in the United States (MIDUS): Established in 1995, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study "was conceived by scientists from diverse fields who were interested in how physical and mental health changes across the decades of adult life, for whom, and why."
- *National Health & Aging Trends Study (NHATS): Starting in 2011, NHATS fosters research to guide efforts to reduce disability, maximize health and independent functioning, and enhance quality of life at older age.
- Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID): Beginning in 1968, PSID is the longest running longitudinal household survey that measures economic and social well-being and has allowed researchers and policy analysts to investigate the dynamism inherent in social and behavioral processes.
- *Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC): Established in 1997, RADC is committed to discovering better ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent Alzheimer's and other dementias.
- *Understanding America Study (UAS): Founded in 2014, UAS has created an in-depth portrayal of the people in the United States including their cognitive abilities, financial views, retirement planning, and well-being.
- *Useful Field of View Training (UFOVT) Randomized Control Trials: Initiated in 2018, UFOVT aims to explain the contributions of body functions to dementia and the effects of UFOVT on dementia diagnosis and associated costs.