When will more VA/CMS data be available from VIReC?
CMS usually makes Medicare claims files available 9 months after the close of the calendar year. The delay is longer on other CMS files. Medicaid claims and MCBS Access to Care data are typically available 1½ years after the end of the calendar year, whereas the MCBS Cost and Use file takes two years. The MAC provides a finder file of SSNs to CMS when the data are available, and usually begins receiving the data from CMS a few months later. MAC then forwards the CMS data to VIReC, and VIReC builds the files for research. The files are available to researchers after VIReC completes quality checks.
