Current Medicare Survey: The Medical Insurance Sample

The January issue of the Social Security Bulletin carried a full description of the statistical program established to record and maintain data on the utilization and charges for m‘edical care services covered under the health insurarxe program for the aged. The statistical system ‘is based on the receipt by the Social Security Administration of bills presented fo nnd paid by fiscal intermediaries throughout the country. Considera,ble delays in the stat&ticnl reporting of current information are inherent in the billing system. The Social Security Administration has therefore initiated a continui,ng nwnthly Current Medicare Survey (CMS) to provide current estimates of the hospital a& medical care services used and of the charges incurred by persons covered ulzder the program. This article dencribes the medical inaurance sample o,f the CMX and presents information for Ju7y, August, und September 1966the first 3 months of the program’s operation. A subsequen,t article uGl1 describe the hospital insurance sam,ple of the CMS and report data for the initial months of the program.