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Merative MarketScan Research Databases are licensed administrative health-claims datasets used for real-world-evidence research. They are data, not software: there is nothing to install, and access runs through a license, typically held by an institution. This guide maps what the family contains, how researchers get access, and which terms to check in a license.
What MarketScan is
MarketScan is a family of healthcare databases sold by Merative (formerly Truven Health Analytics, later IBM Watson Health). Merative describes them on its real-world data analytics page (read 2026-11-07) as claims and linked specialty data for real-world-evidence research. The name is also a generic business phrase; this page covers only the Merative research databases.
Databases in the family
Core closed-claims databases
- Commercial: employer-sourced claims for the under-65 working population and dependents, with actual cost data.
- Medicare Supplemental: inpatient and outpatient services plus drug, laboratory, dental and enrollment data, from employer and individual plans, including Medicare Advantage and retiree coordination of benefits.
- Multi-State Medicaid: fee-for-service and managed-care medical, surgical and prescription claims.
Linked specialty databases
Merative lists these alongside the core claims: Claims+EHR (with Veradigm), Mortality (year and month of death), Health and Productivity Management, Lab Results, Health Risk Assessment, Dental, Benefit Plan Design (a subset of plans) and Social Determinants of Health (race/ethnicity, education, income, poverty, urban/rural).
How to get access
Merative’s page offers a request-access form, and customers can link their own datasets. Many universities hold a site license and make it available to affiliated researchers. Two published examples show how different those arrangements are:
- University of Kentucky CCTS (data extraction page, read 2026-11-07): Commercial Claims and Encounters plus Medicare Supplemental, data 2010-2024. Kentucky states that deidentified data require no individual IRB approval, that the data are for MarketScan use only and not to be linked with any other database, and that publications must cite its CTSA grant and name the source “Merative Marketscan Research Database”.
- UNC Sheps Center (MarketScan page, read 2026-11-07): an annually renewable license for Commercial and Medicare Supplemental, covering 2000-2018 as stated on that page, open to UNC faculty, staff and graduate students on directed projects. Others are told to contact Merative for their own license.
These are local terms of those institutions, not Merative-wide rules. Your own institution’s conditions govern your project; see data use agreement for the general concept.
What the data look like
Merative says the data are delivered on Snowflake, with outputs to Tableau, Power BI and SQL-compatible tools. The Kentucky page lists extract tables (inpatient admissions, facility, inpatient services, outpatient services, outpatient pharmaceutical claims, populations, annual enrollment, enrollment detail) and variable categories (coordination of benefits, time, demographic, clinical, financial), and says a data dictionary is available.
Limits and license terms to check
- Population: the Commercial database is employer-sourced coverage for the under-65 working population and dependents, so it does not represent all payers. HCUP NEDS is an example of a different, AHRQ-run source.
- Coverage years: differ by institution (2010-2024 at Kentucky, 2000-2018 at UNC, as stated on their pages).
- IRB, linkage and citation: Kentucky’s terms above show what to look for. Confirm yours in writing; see digitally anonymised data for the underlying concept.
Alternatives
| Source | What its own page says |
|---|---|
| AHRQ HCUP | A family of healthcare databases from a Federal-State-Industry partnership sponsored by AHRQ, with all-payer, encounter-level hospital data beginning in 1988 (read 2026-11-07). |
| ResDAC CMS data | A request pathway for CMS data files, including Medicare and Medicare Encounter data (read 2026-11-07). |
For another Merative product, see Micromedex.
FAQ
Is MarketScan software?
No. It is a licensed claims dataset. Merative says it is delivered on Snowflake, with outputs to Tableau, Power BI and SQL-compatible tools.
Who publishes MarketScan?
Merative, which was formerly Truven Health Analytics and later IBM Watson Health.
Do I need IRB approval?
That is set locally. Kentucky states that deidentified data require no individual IRB approval; check your own institution’s rule.
Sources
- Merative, real-world data analytics: https://www.merative.com/real-world-evidence/real-world-data-analytics (2026-11-07)
- University of Kentucky CCTS: https://www.ccts.uky.edu/services-resources-researchers/data-extraction-consultations/data-extraction-merative-marketscan (2026-11-07)
- UNC Sheps Center: https://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/data/marketscan-data/ (2026-11-07)
- AHRQ HCUP: https://hcup-us.ahrq.gov/overview.jsp (2026-11-07)
- ResDAC: https://resdac.org/cms-data (2026-11-07)
