CMS’ Dashboards put you in the driver’s seat

Michelle Snyder, Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Want to know the percentage of people who have a Medicare Advantage plan compared to all people with Medicare in Maryland from 2007 to 2011? Or perhaps the top 10 Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes for services provided in 2008? You can find answers to these types of questions using the newly launched Medicare Enrollment Dashboard and Part B Physician/Supplier Dashboard. They expand our current dashboard program that already includes the Part D Prescription Drug Benefit data set and the Medicare Inpatient Hospital data set.

The CMS Dashboard program lets you find and sort Medicare data your way. These interactive tools let you sort data by numerous variables, such as by state, year, type of beneficiary, or a combination of variables, making it easier to spot emerging trends in spending and service utilization.

The dashboards give the public a clearer and better understanding of our programs by simplifying our data and making it more accessible. It’s part of our continuing efforts to follow the open government principles of transparency, participation and collaboration. We hope these tools will encourage researchers and policymakers to ask and get answers to the questions that help improve our nation’s health care delivery and payment systems.

Be sure to bookmark the CMS Dashboard web page for future reference.