generated: '2026-08-15'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://developer.cms.gov/, https://developer.cms.gov/marketplace-api/key-request.html,
  https://developer.cms.gov/ppl-api/, https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/docs,
  https://bcda.cms.gov/production-access.html, https://ab2d.cms.gov/production-access,
  https://bluebutton.cms.gov/production-access/
provider: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
supersedes: >-
  The 2026-05-04 bulk-sweep scaffold that previously occupied this file (method: generated, tier limits
  and prices were scaffold defaults). Replaced 2026-08-15 with values read from CMS's own pages.
summary: >-
  CMS charges nothing for any API. There are no tiers, no metering, no overage, no paid support and no
  enterprise plan — these are US federal public services funded by appropriation. What varies is not
  price but ACCESS: each API sits at one of three gates. The one genuine cost in the whole surface is
  external to CMS: the Procedure Price Lookup API requires a separately purchased annual AMA CPT
  license, sent as the amaLicense header.
currency: USD
plan_count: 3
plans:
  - id: open-no-key
    name: Open — no key required
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    billing_period: none
    gate: none
    quota: unlimited
    overage: none
    limits: >-
      No rate limits enforced on the Provider Data Catalog; CMS asks high-volume applications to contact
      the PDC support team for guidance.
    apis:
      - CMS Provider Data Catalog API (Care Compare)
      - CMS Socrata Open Data API (data.cms.gov)
      - NPPES NPI Registry API
      - Medicare Coverage Database (MCD)
    url: https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/docs
  - id: free-key
    name: Free — API key required
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    billing_period: none
    gate: self-service key request form
    quota: rate-limited, see rate-limits/cms-rate-limits.yml
    overage: none
    limits: >-
      Finder API is capped at 1,000 requests per minute per key. Marketplace API limits are signalled in
      response headers but not published as numbers. Keys expire every 60 days and are auto-renewed by
      email.
    apis:
      - Healthcare.gov Marketplace API
      - CMS Finder API
      - CMS Procedure Price Lookup (PPL) API
    url: https://developer.cms.gov/marketplace-api/key-request.html
    external_cost:
      applies_to: CMS Procedure Price Lookup (PPL) API
      item: annual AMA CPT license
      paid_to: American Medical Association (not CMS)
      note: >-
        The only paid precondition anywhere in the CMS surface. Without it the API returns 403 "Missing
        or invalid amaLicense". CMS does not publish the price; it is an AMA commercial licence.
  - id: eligibility-gated
    name: Free — programme eligibility required for production
    price: 0
    currency: USD
    billing_period: none
    gate: >-
      Programme eligibility plus a CMS onboarding process. Sandbox with synthetic data is open to
      everyone; production requires being the right kind of Medicare entity.
    quota: concurrency-limited, see rate-limits/cms-rate-limits.yml
    overage: none
    eligibility:
      - api: CMS Beneficiary Claims Data API (BCDA)
        who: Eligible model entities — Medicare ACOs and alternative payment model participants
        url: https://bcda.cms.gov/production-access.html
      - api: CMS AB2D API
        who: >-
          Active stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) sponsors; production additionally requires
          registering static source IP addresses
        url: https://ab2d.cms.gov/production-access
      - api: CMS Data at the Point of Care (DPC) API
        who: Fee-for-service Medicare providers with an approved organization
        url: https://dpc.cms.gov/
      - api: CMS Blue Button 2.0 API
        who: >-
          Any developer may register, but production data is released only with each Medicare
          enrollee's own OAuth consent
        url: https://bluebutton.cms.gov/production-access/
      - api: CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) Submissions API
        who: QPP participants and their designated submission vendors
        url: https://cmsgov.github.io/qpp-submissions-docs/
    apis:
      - CMS Beneficiary Claims Data API (BCDA)
      - CMS AB2D API (Claims Data to Part D Sponsors)
      - CMS Data at the Point of Care (DPC) API
      - CMS Blue Button 2.0 API
      - CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) Submissions API
paid_tiers: 0
free_trial: not-applicable
sales_gate: false
note: >-
  There is no pricing page to link because there is no pricing. The access model, not the price list,
  is the thing a developer needs to read: developer.cms.gov is the closest CMS has to one.