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Abstract:
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The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is a longitudinal panel, multipurpose survey of a nationally representative sample of the Medicare population. MCBS sample participants are interviewed three times a year for four years, with each annual release having a distinct universe of participants. Population-based surveys typically define eligibility as whether a sample unit is in the population of inference. In the MCBS, the sample unit is the Medicare beneficiary, but the concept of beneficiary survey eligibility is complex and has different interpretations at sample selection, round-to round data collection, production of survey weights, and the production of annual files and data products. We will discuss and evaluate the tradeoffs of each survey eligibility definition from one data year to the next. We will also evaluate the impact of these definitions on data collection procedures and data post processing including weighting and imputation. By studying various definitions of survey eligibility in the MCBS, this research aims to better understand the complexity of multiple eligibility criteria and the consequences for designing longitudinal studies.
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