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Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) Analytic Files (TAF)

The Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) Analytic Files (TAF) Research Identifiable Files (RIF) are a research-optimized version of T-MSIS data and serve as a data source tailored to meet the broad research needs of the Medicaid and CHIP data user community. These files include data on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment, demographics, service utilization and payments.

TAF RIF include annual files that contain demographic and eligibility information for all Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, claims files that contain service use and payment records, and annual files containing information on Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans and providers.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created several resources to support researchers in their use of the TAF RIF, including TAF technical guidance and data quality products.

To obtain access to the files, please see the Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC) website for information on completing a data use agreement and requesting TAF RIF data. The ResDAC website provides a centralized source of information on CMS datasets.

TAF User Support & Data Quality (DQ) Materials

TAF Technical Guidance

CMS drafted several technical guidance documents to support TAF users, including overviews of the Annual Demographic and Eligibility (DE) File and all four claim types.

TAF DQ Resources Available on DQ Atlas

DQ Atlas is an interactive, web-based tool that helps policymakers, analysts, researchers, and other stakeholders explore the quality and usability of the TAF. The charts, maps, and tables in DQ Atlas show state-level DQ assessments and associated measure values for topics that are pertinent to Medicaid and CHIP.

Additional User Support Materials

Additional user support materials include an Introduction to TAF presentation, a quick guide mapping TAF user support materials to materials that were available for TAF’s predecessor, the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX), and a TAF RIF availability chart. All states were required to begin submitting T-MSIS data by October 2015, but cutover dates vary by state, and the TAF RIF availability chart outlines when each state transitioned from MAX to TAF.

TAF Research Products

To support policy making and program monitoring, CMS is developing research products using the TAF data. 

T-MSIS Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Data Book

The T-MSIS SUD Data Book is congressionally-mandated through the Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271) (SUPPORT Act). The SUPPORT Act seeks to address the pressing need for substance use disorder treatment and prevention services, with a focus on opioid use. The SUPPORT Act directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to publish the SUD Data Book no later than October 24, 2019 and to issue an updated version of the SUD Data Book no later than January 1 of each calendar year through 2024.

CMS released the inaugural T-MSIS Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Data Book using preliminary 2017 TAF data on October 24, 2019, and released the 2018 SUD Data Book on January 19, 2021. Each SUD Data Book reports the number of Medicaid beneficiaries treated for a SUD and the services they received during the calendar year.

An interactive T-MSIS SUD Data Book data analytics tool for 2017 and 2018 is also available. The data and tables in this tool mirror those that have been produced in the SUD Data Book and can be filtered, sorted, and downloaded in multiple formats using a graphical interface. The tool offers enhanced flexibility for users over the static display of information in the SUD Data Book report.

The SUPPORT Act also requires a description of the quality and completeness of the data used in the SUD Data Book. To provide this additional context, CMS initially produced several DQ Briefs for the 2017 data. This information was then updated for the 2018 data and is located on the DQ Atlas.

For additional information about the quality of the 2018 data, please see the DQ Atlas.

For additional information about the quality of the 2017 data, please select the links below:

Per Capita Expenditures

State-level Medicaid per capita expenditures were calculated for inclusion in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Scorecard. This analysis draws on the CMS Office of the Actuary (OACT) methodology for estimating national-level Medicaid per capita spending. The data sources for the analysis are the 2017 and 2018 TAF data and CMS-64 expenditures reported in the Medicaid Budget and Expenditures System (MBES).

Download the methodology document:

This version of the per capita expenditures is a part of the Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard that was released in October 2020. To view the version of the Medicaid and CHIP Scorecard that was published in November 2019, please visit the archived Scorecard page.