Social Security Numbers in State Medicaid Records: Completeness and Quality

• Activity Number: 475
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Social Statistics Section
• Author(s): John Czajka*+ and Shinu Verghese
• Companies: Mathematica Policy Research and Mathematica Policy Research
• Keywords: Administrative records ; Record linkage ; SSN validation

Abstract

The Medicaid records that states submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through the Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) do not contain names and addresses, but they do contain Social Security numbers (SSNs). Any attempt to link Medicaid records to other databases must rely almost exclusively on these SSNs. The effectiveness of these linkages and the validity of any research based on these linked data are directly dependent on the quality of the SSNs recorded in the MSIS files. This paper documents how often SSNs were present in the MSIS records that states submitted for the final quarter of federal fiscal year 2009 and uses Social Security Administration data enhanced by the Census Bureau to assess the validity of reported SSNs by age group and state of residence. Implications for linkage of Medicaid records to other databases are discussed.