What to Expect from the 2026 COB Solution Data Refresh

The data refresh will remove outdated and stagnant data from the system, improve the accuracy of overlaps, and improve system performance.

To strengthen data quality and ensure only accurate, up-to-date information remains in the system, only specific types of data will be permanently removed as part of the refresh:

• Inactive or termed membership records that have a coverage end date older than three years from the time of the refresh
• Duplicate missing records

• All inquiries, including inquiry documents, inquiry details, and overlap attached documents

Duplicate missing records occur when multiple missing coverage records exist for the same individual and coverage, creating redundant entries. These duplicate instances will be removed as part of the refresh, while non-duplicate missing records will remain in the system.

Active records will not be deleted, even if they are more than three years old. For example, if a member has ongoing or continuous coverage, those records will remain in the system.

The three-year timeframe is calculated based on the start date of the data refresh (June 24, 2026).

No changes will be made to policy number, effective date, or termination date fields as part of the refresh.

All dates below are tentative and subject to change. Advance communication will be shared if any updates to the timeline are required.

• June 25: Member Data Portal moves to read-only mode
• July 6 and July 13: COB Return Reports will not be delivered
• July 20: Member Data Portal returns to normal functionality; new files delivered

Clients should expect the following during the data refresh period:

• Approximately two weeks without a COB Return File (weeks of July 5 and July 12)
• The Member Data Portal in read-only mode from June 25 through July 20 (approximately 25 days)
• Approximately three days of full system downtime, scheduled during overnight and weekend hours

During this time, weekly Return COB Reports will not be received on July 6 and July 13 as member records are removed and reprocessed.

The Member Data Portal will move to read-only mode on June 25. During this time, plans will not be able to submit overrides, overlap documents, inquiries, or group migrations. Member search functionality will remain available, displaying data as of the start of the refresh.

Clients are encouraged to resolve any open inquiries prior to June 24 and may choose to stop submitting new inquiries a few days in advance (for example, June 20) to allow time for completion before the refresh begins.

The Member Data Portal will return to normal functionality on July 20, at which time plans will receive refreshed COB data via a full COB Report. The portal will be taken out of read-only mode, and new overrides and inquiries can be submitted.

Plans may continue submitting their weekly files during the downtime; however, these files will not be processed until after the data refresh is complete.

Yes. Clients should continue submitting weekly membership files as usual during the data refresh period.

While file processing will be temporarily paused, submitted files will be queued and processed in sequential order once the refresh is complete. The first file delivered after the refresh on July 20 will not include the data submitted during the refresh period. This data will be processed after the refresh is complete and will be delivered in a subsequent file following the July 20 file.

The data will be delivered beginning the week of July 27. Depending on processing volume and timing, it may be delivered across multiple files over multiple weeks.

Clients should expect a temporary pause of COB return files during the weeks of July 5 and July 12. A new full COB file will be delivered on July 20, after which normal weekly file delivery will resume.

Clients will receive supporting data files both before and after the refresh to assist with reconciliation and ensure continuity of COB data.

During the refresh:

• A file containing all membership-level records that will be deleted will be delivered via SFTP between June 29 and July 20 in the standard member file format.
• This file includes membership records only (such as records terminated more than three years ago and duplicate missing records) and does not include COB overlaps.
• Clients may continue submitting weekly files; however, processing will be paused during the refresh period.

After the refresh is complete:

• A full COB file will be delivered on July 20, containing all remaining overlaps with new reference IDs
• The Member Data Portal will return to read/write functionality on July 20, and all functionality will be restored
• A crosswalk file will be provided to map pre-refresh reference IDs to post-refresh reference IDs for all retained overlaps

This ensures all impacted plans have visibility into overlaps that no longer exist following the refresh.

The crosswalk file will include both the original (pre-refresh) and new (post-refresh) reference IDs.

If an overlap is not recreated after the refresh:

• The pre-refresh reference ID will be included
• The post-refresh reference ID will be listed as “No Post Refresh Overlap”

The size of the crosswalk file will depend on the payer’s overlap volume. It will be delivered as a CSV file, and the naming format will be YYYMMDD_PID_REID_CROSSWALK.

The file’s header row will be constructed as follows:

• File Format Version | Payer ID | Reporting Entity ID | Date of Extract
• File Format Version will be “v1.0”
• Date of Extract will be in the format YYYYMMDD

The file’s column name header will be as follows:

• Pre CAQH COB Reference ID | Post CAQH Reference ID

The size of the crosswalk file will vary based on each payer’s overlap volume and the number of records impacted by the data refresh.

Because the file will include all retained overlaps with both pre-refresh and post-refresh reference IDs—as well as overlaps that are no longer recreated—the total volume may differ from your current overlap counts.

To support file handling, crosswalk files will be delivered in segments with a maximum of 500K records per file. Clients with higher overlap volumes or a greater number of impacted records may receive multiple files. 

The data refresh is designed to remove duplicate records and improve overall data quality and will not introduce new duplicates which occur when multiple missing coverage records exist for the same individual and coverage, creating redundant entries.

Changes in record counts may occur as outdated or duplicate records are removed. The crosswalk file will provide full visibility into all overlaps, including those that are no longer present after the refresh.

Even if your organization already archives older records and prevents duplicates, records from other payers may still be removed, which can impact overlaps in your results.

No. Members with current coverage will not be removed during the data refresh unless they are identified as duplicates.

Only termed records older than three years and duplicate missing records are eligible for deletion, ensuring that valid and current data remains intact.

The data refresh will not remove valid records. If a record is no longer present after the refresh, it is because it met the defined criteria for deletion.

The crosswalk file will provide visibility into these changes, allowing clients to identify any overlaps that were not recreated following the refresh.

Some overlaps that existed prior to the data refresh may not be recreated after the refresh is completed.

This typically occurs when one or both member records associated with the overlap were deleted during the refresh due to inactivity or data quality criteria. In these cases, the overlap no longer meets the criteria to be recreated. 

Because these overlaps are shared across plans, this status will be communicated to all impacted parties through the crosswalk file, where the pre-refresh reference ID will be included and the post-refresh reference ID will be listed as “No Post Refresh Overlap.”

This ensures all affected plans have clear visibility into overlaps that no longer exist following the refresh. 

Yes. Overlaps will have new reference IDs once the refresh is complete and a crosswalk will be provided to map old Reference IDs to new ones. If COB data was saved internally using old reference IDs, those old reference IDs will need to be updated using the crosswalk.

CAQH will provide ongoing email communications from now through the completion of the data refresh.

To support planning and ensure your questions are answered, we will also host a series of optional product-led office hours. Each session includes a brief overview of the refresh, key dates, and time for your questions.

Planned Sessions:

• Thursday, April 16: 1:00 - 1:30 PM ET

• Thursday, May 21: 1:00 - 1:30 PM ET

• Thursday, June 11: 1:00 - 1:30 PM ET