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Linkage to other data
sources provides information beyond what can be obtained from
the individual survey. These linkages may be part of the original
survey design or done by an investigator in order to answer a
specific study question. The survey data in the MCBS is linked
to CMS administrative files (both claims and enrollment data for
Medicare) to provide detailed information on use of services (office
visits, hospitalizations, home health care use, skilled nursing
facility, etc.), diagnoses, and coverage information such as managed
care or Medicaid enrollment (Eppig
and Chulis, 1997).
The MEPS sample is
drawn from the NHIS. A data link file can allow merging responses
in the MEPS to the same respondent's data in the NHIS. For example,
one file available through the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality contains a crosswalk that allows data users to merge
the MEPS 1999 Full-Year Population Characteristics public use
data file with the NHIS 1997/1998 public use data files. Other
data sources that can sometimes be linked to survey data include
the Area Resource File,
which provides county level data such as characteristics of health
facilities, bed and physician supply, and census data, such as
detailed information on neighborhood characteristics and the National
Death Index.
Click here
to see a table showing the association between self-report of
functional limitations and Medicare expenditures, determined by
linking MCBS survey data with Medicare reimbursement data from
claims (Bierman
et al., 1999).
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