SEER-Medicare: Data Limitations

Medicare data do not include:

• claims for HMO enrollees;
• care provided in other settings, such as the Veterans Administration;
• care for persons with Medicare as the secondary payer (in some cases);
• reimbursement for covered services not captured by the Medicare data, e.g. out of pocket expenditures; or
• coverage provided by Medigap policies.

Some of the services not covered by Medicare:

• long term care at home or in a nursing home; and
• routine physicals.