Community Brochure_Phone_English

What do you need to know about your
rights and privacy?
• Your participation is voluntary. You do not
have to answer any question you do not
want to answer, though most people find
the interview enjoyable.
• The information you provide will be kept
private to the extent permitted by law, as
prescribed by the Privacy Act of 1974.
The information you give will only be
used for research and statistical purposes.
• Your Medicare Benefits will not be
affected in any way by your answers
or your decision whether or not to
participate.
• Your data could be carefully verified by
computer matching to administrative
records under Public Law 100-503
[The Computer Matching and Privacy
Protection Act].

Any other questions?
Please feel free to contact MCBS staff at
NORC at the University of Chicago at
anytime.
Call toll-free at: 1-877-389-3429

MCBS

Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey

Email at: [email protected]
Visit us at: mcbs.norc.org

This survey is authorized by section 1875 (42 USC
139511) of the Social Security Act and is conducted
by NORC at the University of Chicago for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
OMB No. 0938-0568 | Expires 8/31/2023

You have been selected to take part in an
important study called the Medicare
Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). You
are one of 16,000 people scientifically
selected at random to represent the
Medicare experiences of other Medicare
beneficiaries all over the United States.

What is the Medicare Current
Beneficiary Survey?
The MCBS is a study to learn more about
people who use Medicare, in order for the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) and researchers to learn more about
Medicare beneficiaries and their health care
experiences. The MCBS has been
conducted since 1991 because the
information you provide about your health
and health care costs is so valuable. CMS,
part of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, oversees Medicare and
sponsors this survey in order to gain
valuable information from you about how
Medicare is administered.

What does this mean for me?
If you take part in this study a specially
trained interviewer from our contractor,
NORC at the University of Chicago, will
interview you by phone. The interviewer
will ask you questions about the health care
services you use, your opinions about those
services, and how much they cost. The
initial survey lasts about an hour, with the
remaining surveys lasting approximately
ninety minutes. The MCBS collects data
three times a year, and you will be
contacted again for subsequent interviews.
You will truly be our partner in this survey,
because your continued participation makes
the survey data we collect valuable.

Why should I participate?
The information you provide us cannot be
replaced by any other data source in the
country. This study is the only source of
such in-depth health care cost and use,
which are used to accomplish the following:

• To help us understand how Medicare
affects your daily life, and what problems
you might be experiencing with it.
• To help increase Medicare coverage
and efficiency for you and for other
beneficiaries, both now and in the future.
• To provide legislators and policy makers
with more information to create effective
laws and regulations for people enrolled in
Medicare. In fact, the Part D prescription
drug benefit was created in part based on
findings from the MCBS.
• To improve the quality of care you and
other Medicare beneficiaries receive.
• To create reports using your data to
describe key factors about how people use
Medicare.

What do we know about Medicare
because of YOU?

A large majority of Medicare beneficiaries
classify their health as excellent, very good
or good.
40%
30%

20%

Hospital, outpatient,
or emergency
3%

Managed
care center
1%

None
9%

Medical
clinic
16%
Doctor's
office
65%
Source: Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Chartbook, 2017
Does not include beneficiaries with Medicare Advantage

Health care spending by Medicare
beneficiaries was almost $1 billion in 2017;
Medicare covered 64% of those costs.
Medicaid
6%

Other Source
4%

Out-ofPocket
17%

17%

10%

0%

Other clinic or
health center
7%

Private
Insurance
8%

30%

17%

The usual source of health care for over 60%
of beneficiaries with original Medicare is a
doctor’s office, while 9% do not have a usual
source of care.

Source of Payment, 2017

Self-Reported Health Status, 2018

30%

Usual Source of Care, 2017

6%

Excellent Very Good

Good

Fair

Poor

Source: 2018 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Early Look Data Brief

Medicare
64%
Source: Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey Chartbook, 2017