specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: CMS Blue Button 2.0
providerId: cms-blue-button
created: '2026-07-11'
modified: '2026-07-11'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Blue Button
- CARIN
- Medicare
- FHIR
- Claims Data
- Patient Access
- Plans
description: >-
  Blue Button 2.0 is a free U.S. government API operated by the Centers for
  Medicare & Medicaid Services. There is no paid tier, no metered billing, and
  no commercial plan - access is gated by process rather than by price. The
  sandbox is fully self-serve with synthetic data for 10,000 Medicare
  enrollees. Production access requires CMS approval of the application - a
  public privacy policy and terms of service, an application form, and a
  one-hour demo to the CMS team - after which production credentials are
  issued at no cost. Refresh tokens (13-month and research application types)
  are granted as part of that approval.
notes: >-
  Every credential is free; the differentiator between tiers is the approval
  gate and the data reached (synthetic vs real Medicare claims), not price.
  Each beneficiary must individually authorize an app through Medicare.gov -
  there is no bulk or population-level access through Blue Button 2.0 (CMS
  offers separate AB2D/BCDA/DPC APIs for that).
sources:
- https://bluebutton.cms.gov/
- https://bluebutton.cms.gov/production-access/
- https://bluebutton.cms.gov/terms/
plans:
- id: cms-blue-button-sandbox
  name: Sandbox (Self-Serve)
  type: free
  description: >-
    Open developer sandbox at sandbox.bluebutton.cms.gov. Register an
    application, get OAuth credentials instantly, and develop against
    synthetic claims data for 10,000 Medicare enrollees. Mirrors all
    production endpoints, resource types, and parameters.
  entries:
  - label: Sandbox API Requests
    name: sandbox_requests
    type: usage
    metric: requests
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: us
    unit: 1
    price: free
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Synthetic Data for 10,000 Enrollees
  - name: All Production Endpoints Mirrored
  - name: Instant OAuth Credentials
  - name: Test Client and Sample Apps
- id: cms-blue-button-production
  name: Production (CMS-Approved)
  type: free
  description: >-
    Free production access to real Medicare beneficiary data, gated on CMS
    approval - public privacy policy and terms of service, an application
    form, and a one-hour demo of account creation, authorization, data
    display, and data-use practices. Each beneficiary still authorizes the
    app individually via Medicare.gov OAuth consent.
  entries:
  - label: Production API Requests
    name: production_requests
    type: usage
    metric: requests
    limit: -1
    timeFrame: month
    geo: us
    unit: 1
    price: free (approval-gated, no fee)
    userMultiplied: false
  elements:
  - name: Real Medicare Claims Data (Parts A, B, D)
  - name: Beneficiary OAuth Consent Flow
  - name: Refresh Tokens for 13-Month and Research App Types
  - name: CMS Developer Support
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com