Take Action

Take Action and Protect Life-Sustaining Dialysis Care from Payment Reductions

The kidney care community serves a highly vulnerable, largely Medicare and dually eligible patient population. Public program reimbursement overall is declining just as the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program transitions into a new prospective payment system. The pressures on the Medicare ESRD program have been growing. Dialysis facilities have been subject to a 2% payment cut under the new bundled payment system. Under the Quality Incentive Program (QIP) 30% of dialysis facilities have had their payments reduced by up to 2%. In addition, Congress has recently enacted reductions in Medicare payments, such as the decrease in Medicare bad debt payments and the 2% sequestration adjustment, that affect dialysis facilities.

More than 80% of dialysis patients are Medicare beneficiaries, because in 1972, Congress committed to provide access to life-sustaining dialysis treatments for individuals through the Medicare program, regardless of age. Because of this unique entitlement, dialysis facilities have no ability to alter payer mix. Further cutbacks in Medicare payments could put patient access to care at greater risk.

Congress should maintain its commitment to the nearly 400,000 Americans with irreversible kidney failure and oppose additional payment cuts that could compromise access to this life-saving treatment.

Issue Brief: Protect Life-Sustaining Dialysis Care from Payment Reductions
Slide Presentation: Protect Dialysis Care from Payment Reductions

Policy Documents:
KCP Letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
ASN/ASPN/RPA Letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
Patient Group Letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Back to Top