MN APCD Public Use Files

This file is designed to analyze the distribution of health care service and procedural information for Minnesota residents. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in the PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Health Care Services PUF: A User Guide (PDF)

Data are stratified by age group, sex, payer type, and county. Health care service information stems from the procedural or revenue codes reported on the medical claim using codes from the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), and the National Uniform Billing Committee Revenue Codes.

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2021, there were 18,818 Commercial claims for 30-39 minute outpatient office visits (CPT/HCPCS 99214) among 9,154 female children and youths under the age of 18 in Hennepin County, and that the combined spending for patient care related to these visits was about $4.3 million.

This file is designed to analyze the distribution of diagnostic information recorded in health care use for Minnesota residents. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in the PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Primary Diagnoses PUF: A User Guide (PDF)

Data are stratified by age group, sex, payer type, and county. Diagnostic information stems from the primary diagnoses on the medical claim following the Clinical Modification of International Classification of Diseases (ICD). It is summarized at the 3-digit level where it describes disease type or organ system.

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2021, there were 2,381 primary diagnoses for abdominal and pelvic pain (ICD-10-CM R10) among males aged 75 years and older in Olmsted County under Medicare, and that the combined spending for patient care related to these diagnoses was about $200,000.

This file is designed to analyze common types of health care use by major categories, including hospital admission, use of ambulance services, clinic visits, and more for Minnesota residents. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in the PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Health Care Utilization PUF: A User Guide (PDF)

Data are stratified by age group, sex, payer type, and county. Health care utilization information is derived using the place of service codes for professional services and type of bill codes for institutional claims as reported per the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service and National Uniform Billing Committee claim reporting standards.

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2021, there were 2,438 hospital inpatient encounters covered by Minnesota Health Care Programs among woman aged 45 to 64 years in Ramsey County, and that the combined spending for patient care related to these visits was about $25.8 million.

Two versions of Prescription Drug PUFs are available:

• The Summary Prescription Drug PUF contains retail pharmacy claims data that have been aggregated by nonproprietary drug name (i.e., active ingredient).
• The Detail Prescription Drug PUF contains retail pharmacy claims data that have been aggregated by the first two segments of the National Drug Code (i.e., drug product).

Summary and Detail Prescription Drug PUFs are stratified by payer type (commercial, Medicare, and Minnesota Health Care Programs). Drug characteristics were obtained from reference databases using National Drug Codes reported on pharmacy claims, and cost and supply measures were calculated from claims data. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in each PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Prescription Drug PUFs: A User Guide (PDF)

Summary PUF

This file is designed to analyze retail prescription drug use and spending among Minnesota residents at the active ingredient level. This file includes demographic distributions of prescription drug users.

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2020, there were 137,385 prescriptions filled for amoxicillin among commercially insured individuals. The total spending on these prescriptions was approximately $850,000, with an average cost per prescription of $6.20. Approximately 38% of filled amoxicillin prescriptions were for children and youth under the age of 19 years.

Detail PUF

This file is designed to analyze retail prescription drug use and spending among Minnesota residents at the drug product level.

• For example, this file permits identifying that among commercially insured individuals in 2020, there were 15,960 prescriptions filled for the two segment NDC of 000933109, which is generic 500 mg capsule amoxicillin manufactured by Teva Pharmaceuticals. The total spending on these prescriptions was about $72,000, with an average cost per prescription of about $4.50.

This file is designed to analyze variation in payments to providers by individual provider specialty across a variety of stratifying variables. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in the PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Provider Specialty PUF: A User Guide (PDF)

The PUF stratifying variables represent payer type, site of service, patient resource utilization band, and provider and patient geography. Provider specialty was derived from the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) using claim reported National Provider Identifier (NPI).

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2020, 344 unique orthopedic surgeons located in an urban area performed 10,592 procedures in a hospital or surgery center on commercially insured patients with urban residence and a resource utilization band level of 3. The average patient paid amount for these procedures was $269.13, while the average insurer paid amount was $2,318.73.

This file is designed to analyze variation in medical and pharmaceutical expenditures by cost sharing, within or across payer type and additional stratifying variables. A data dictionary is included as a separate worksheet in the PUF. A user guide contains additional details on PUF design and data interpretation. (Released: November 2023)

• MN APCD Member PUF: A User Guide (PDF)

The PUF stratifying variables represent member age group, sex, resource utilization band, geography, and median household income associated with member ZIP code. Expenditure variables include medical and pharmaceutical amounts paid by the insurer and member as well as combined medical and pharmaceutical costs.

• For example, this file permits identifying that in 2020, among commercially insured women aged 45 to 64 years living in an urban core area with high median household income, 3,708 members with a resource utilization band (RUB) of 0 accounted for 34,012 months of coverage, no hospitalizations, and no expenditures. In contrast, 2,240 members in RUB 5 accounted for 24,716 months of coverage, 1,774 hospitalizations, and a mean medical and pharmaceutical total paid amount of $5,540.85 per member month.