The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released Medicare Advantage data to researchers for the first time. Researchers are required to sign a data use agreement to access the initial 2015 data sets. “We recognize that the MA data is not perfect, but we have determined that the quality of the available MA data is adequate enough to support research,” said CMS administrator Seema Verma. More data is expected to be released by insurers through August, with official reports to follow.

Reporting from Modern Healthcare’s Virgil Dickson here.