A finding has a shelf life

We ran our cross-field check on a file retrieved October 12, 2026, with an embedded update date of November 21, 2025. As sources refresh, that finding describes an older snapshot. Files get republished, encodings get fixed, and a candidate list quietly goes stale.

Reusing an old finding without re-checking is how careful research turns into a bad citation. The row counts, the file version and the retrieval date travel together or not at all.

Before a number appears in a new deck or post, ask when the source was last pulled and whether the check has been re-run. If the answer is old, re-download and retest. Freshness is part of the claim.

Read the original research: When a zero count has a median.

Sources: CMS FAQ; CMS technical documentation.