The CMS-to-APCD-CDL™ Crosswalk maps Medicare fee-for-service data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to the APCD Common Data Layout (APCD-CDL™), version 4.0.1. It helps states and their vendors bring Medicare data into an APCD in the same structure as the other data they collect under the APCD-CDL.
Get the Crosswalk
Version 1.0, released November 2026. The Excel workbook is attached to the release on GitHub; click it there to download it.
What It Covers
The crosswalk maps the CMS Medicare fee-for-service Research Identifiable Files (CCW RIF, distributed through ResDAC) to three APCD-CDL files: Member Eligibility, Medical Claims, and Pharmacy Claims (Part D). It also lists the CMS files and Part D variables a state needs to request.
It does not cover the APCD-CDL Dental or Provider files, which have no Medicare mapping, or Medicare Advantage encounter data.
How It Was Built
Freedman HealthCare, Onpoint Health Data, and the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) each mapped the CMS files to the APCD-CDL independently. The three mappings were reconciled into one, and the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) reviewed the draft. The APCD Council maintains the crosswalk as a living resource and will update it when CMS revises its files or a new version of the APCD-CDL is released.