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Don’t Rely on Incomplete Mortality Data

Why Social Security and Medical Claims Data Provide Insufficient Mortality Coverage

Comprehensive mortality data are essential for researchers looking to accurately measure patient health outcomes, health systems desiring to remove deceased individuals from patient communications, and covered entities seeking to design more effective population health models and risk-based interventions. Many organizations rely on common sources such as the Social Security Administration (SSA) Death Master File (DMF) or internal medical claims data to identify deceased individuals, but these sources contain significant gaps in coverage. 

The Challenge with the SSA Death Master File 

Clients often ask why they need additional mortality data if they already receive the SSA Death Master File (DMF). While the SSA DMF has a history of strong mortality coverage  (~90%),  that  coverage  dropped starting in 2011 when a legislative change forced the SSA to remove protected state death records from the file. This change resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of deaths available to users of the DMF to a point that only ~16% of deaths are reported in this file in recent years.  

Veritas is an approved licenser of the SSA DMF because the death records it includes are of high quality. However, to maintain strong overall mortality coverage after 2011, Veritas supplements the DMF with additional mortality sources. These supplemental sources include obituaries, internments, and memorials, ensuring comprehensive and current coverage. 

Medical Claims Are an Incomplete Source of Mortality 

Many health providers and payers rely on their own medical claims data to understand mortality rates within their patient populations. However, claims data are a highly incomplete source of mortality data. Mortality information is typically only recorded in a claim when a patient dies during in-patient care, including hospice. When this event occurs, the claim contains specific codes for deceased patients, such as discharge codes and occurrence codes for the date of death. 

The critical issue is that most patients do not die in a healthcare setting. Because of this limitation, only 20% of deaths, on average, are available in aggregated medical claims data.  

The Consequences of Incomplete Records 

Organizations across multiple industries need to augment their mortality information with external sources if they wish to successfully achieve their goals. Without accurate, comprehensive data: 

• Healthcare Providers and Payers struggle to properly remove deceased individuals from communications and design improved population health models and risk-based interventions 

• Life Sciences Companies struggle to accurately measure the health outcomes (i.e. survival) of their patient populations,  

• Financial Services struggle to detect fraud and identity theft 

• LifeInsurance and Benefits Administration Services struggle to rapidly identify new deaths that trigger payment claims and avoid incorrect or delayed payments  

At Veritas, we are committed to providing this missing information in an accessible and affordable manner. We deliver the complete mortality data required to validate real world evidence, reduce unnecessary administrative costs, and drive better outcomes. 

If you are interested in learning more about our mortality data, please contact us or reach out directly at sales@veritasdataresearch.com.