Tech Notes: Definitions

Medicare Population Data:

County refers to the beneficiary's county of residence as of March of the following year. In addition to the 100 North Carolina counties, three additional options may be chosen: Mountain Region, Piedmont Region, and Coast Region. The table below lists North Carolina counties by region. These groupings are consistent with the Healthy carolinians 2010 Governor's Task Force.

Race refers to the beneficiary's race. The other category includes those beneficiaries whose race is Asian, Hispanic, North American Native, other or unknown.

Age refers to the age of the beneficiary at the end of the previous year.

Enrollment for each beneficiary is grouped into several categories:

• Part A - this includes those beneficiaries who are enrolled in any Part A regardless of if they are enrolled in Part B. This includes beneficiaries who have only Part A enrollment and beneficiaries who have both Part A and Part B.
• Part A and B - this includes those beneficiaries who were enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B.
• Health Maintenance Organization/Managed Care Organization - this includes those beneficiaries who were enrolled in HMOs/MCOs.

Dually eligible refers to beneficiaries who are entitled to and enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. This includes the poor elderly.

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) refers to beneficiaries who are afflicted with this condition and are thus enrolled in Medicare. For more information on ESRD please visit the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Hospital Discharge Data:

County refers to the beneficiary's county of residence at the time of hospitalization. In addition to the 100 North Carolina counties, three additional options may be chosen: Mountain Region, Piedmont Region, and Coast Region. The table below lists North Carolina counties by region. These groupings are consistent with the Healthy carolinians 2010 Governor's Task Force.

Race refers to the beneficiary's race. The other category includes those beneficiaries whose race is Asian, Hispanic, North American Native, other or unknown.

Age refers to the age of the beneficiary at the time of hospitalization.

Year refers to the year in which the beneficiary is discharged from the hospital. For example, a beneficiary who was admitted to the hospital on 12/29/1996 and discharged on 01/04/1997 would be included in the 1997 hospitalization data.

Influenza Immunization Data:

County refers to the beneficiary's county of residence as of March of the following year. In addition to the 100 North Carolina counties, three additional options may be chosen: Mountain Region, Piedmont Region, and Coast Region. The table below lists North Carolina counties by region. These groupings are consistent with the Healthy Carolinians 2010 Governor's Task Force.

Age refers to the beneficiary as of November 1st of the given year.

Race refers to the beneficiary's race. The other category includes those beneficiaries whose race is Asian, Hispanic, North American Native, other or unknown.

Year refers to the year in which the beneficiary received the immunization.

Table of North Carolina Counties by Region