Administration To Overhaul Payment System For Dialysis, Shifting Focus From Clinics To Home Care
The goal is to reduce the $114 billion paid by the U.S. government each year to treat chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, a top area of spending, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. The move could rock the highly profitably dialysis industry--shares of the largest companies who operate such clinics fell at the news.
Modern Healthcare:
Kidney Dialysis Should Move To Patients' Homes
HHS Secretary Alex Azar on Monday told a crowd of kidney disease patients and advocates the Trump administration is overhauling Medicare's payment system to move the bulk of dialysis treatments from clinics to the home. He touted an existing payment demonstration launched by the CMS Innovation Center under the Obama administration in 2015, which has the backing of the dialysis industry: the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Seamless Care Organizations. (Luthi, 3/4)
Reuters:
U.S. Seeks To Cut Dialysis Costs With More Home Care Versus Clinics
The Trump administration is working on a new payment approach for treating kidney disease that favors lower cost care at home and transplants, a change that would upend a dialysis industry that provides care in thousands of clinics nationwide. The goal is to reduce the $114 billion paid by the U.S. government each year to treat chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, a top area of spending. (3/4)
In other news from CMS —
Modern Healthcare:
Stark Law Changes Outlined By CMS' Seema Verma
CMS Administrator Seema Verma gave her first update on a major overhaul to the Stark law, saying that a key part of the regulation will remove a barrier to doctors participating in value-based arrangements. A major part of the agency's updates to the anti-kickback law is clarifying areas of noncompliance for doctors and updating the decades-old rules to reflect the shift from a fee-for-service model to value-based care, Verma said during the Federation of American Hospitals' policy conference in Washington Monday. (King, 3/4)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Test Of House Calls At Northwell Saves Money
It has been two years since Rose Katz, 83, came home after an extended stay at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. Back in December 2016, she was rushed to the emergency room after her heartbeat slowed and her body temperature dropped to 91 degrees. Her heart stopped twice while at the hospital, where physicians discovered a blockage and implanted a pacemaker. (LaMantia, 3/4)
