Behind Closed Doors: How US Health Datasets are Updated The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) update health datasets in the United States to track trends, identify risk factors, and inform healthcare policy.
These updates occur largely behind closed doors, sparking concerns about transparency, data quality, and accessibility.
The History of Dataset Updates Health dataset updates began in the 1960s with the establishment of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Master Beneficiary Record.