Treatment Options Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Dialysis Patient Citizens

Dialysis Patient Citizens Wins Court Ruling Against Insurer Veto on ESRD Patients

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:13:40+00:00February 16th, 2017|Categories: Access to Transplant, Charitable Premium Assistance, Improve Access to Care, Legal Defense, Medigap Coverage, Treatment Options|

In a lawsuit filed by DPC against the Department of Health and Human Services, a federal court has blocked a regulation that would have given insurers veto power over ESRD patients’ access to private coverage. The judge called the regulation, that could have forced dialysis patients off their current health insurance and jeopardized their access to care, “arbitrary and capricious.” In enjoining the regulation’s enforcement, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held that the rule was 1) procedurally defective because HHS adopted it without first giving the public notice of it and seeking comment on it, [...]

CMS Updates Policies and Payment Rates for End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (CMS 1651-F)

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00November 14th, 2016|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Quality Incentive Program, Treatment Options|

On October 28, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates payment policies and rates under the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for renal dialysis services furnished beginning January 1, 2017. Under the ESRD PPS for 2017, Medicare expects to pay approximately $9 billion to approximately 6,000 ESRD facilities to cover dialysis services. The finalized 2017 ESRD base rate will be $231.55. CMS projects that the updates for 2017 will increase total payments to all ESRD facilities by 0.73 percent compared with 2016, amounting to about $80 million. CMS is finalizing an increase to [...]

Did Payment Reform Affect Patient Modality Choice?

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:28+00:00August 11th, 2016|Categories: Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

One of the main policy goals of Dialysis Patient Citizens is to Improve Access to Care. This tenet includes improving patient access to all dialysis modalities: home hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, in-center hemodialysis and transplantation. Through our annual membership survey, we’ve uncovered various barriers for patients who would like to receive home hemodialysis. Many patients are unable to receive treatments in their home because of a lack of a caregiver, which is a requirement to receive treatment. However, DPC has also uncovered that the type of insurance a patient has may affect the likelihood of whether they are informed of home dialysis [...]

DPC Participates in Home Dialysis Briefing Emphasizing Current Barriers to Treatment

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:29+00:00June 6th, 2016|Categories: Improve Access to Care, Medicaid, Treatment Options|

Hrant Jamgochian, CEO of Dialysis Patient Citizens, participated in a congressional briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Home Dialysis on May 16th. DPC joined hip-hop artist David Rush, former U.S. Representative Karen Thurman, Larry Weisberg and Dr. Sue Quaggin to provide policymakers with policy options to improve access to home dialysis. DPC’s most recent membership survey indicated significant insurance barriers to access for home dialysis. However, the largest barrier for most patients was the lack of a care partner. The DPC survey found that while 74% of ESRD patients overall were informed about the option of home hemodialysis, there was an information gap [...]

Study: End Stage Renal Disease Patients Face Policy Barriers to Home Dialysis

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:30+00:00March 10th, 2016|Categories: Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Promote Financial Security, Treatment Options|

Current federal policies limit patient access to home dialysis, a treatment option that offers significant clinical and quality-of-life advantages, according to a report released today by Washington, DC-based economist Alex Brill of Matrix Global Advisors (MGA). As a result of policy barriers, Brill finds a key segment of the growing population of patients who have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) miss out on the important health and lifestyle benefits of home dialysis. Brill, formerly chief economist to the House Ways & Means Committee, also finds that innovation in the home dialysis market may not reach patients if barriers cannot be addressed. Fewer [...]

Medicaid-Eligible Dialysis Patients Not Fully Informed of Treatment Options, Survey Finds

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:31+00:00December 11th, 2015|Categories: Article, Medicaid, Treatment Options|

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who receive Medicaid are less likely to be informed of home modality and transplantation options than patients covered by Medicare or commercial insurance, according to survey research DPC released earlier this month. DPC recently partnered with Baxter to facilitate a panel discussing these disparities at the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) Conference in Los Angeles, California. The DPC survey found that while about 74 percent of ESRD patients overall are informed about the option of home hemodialysis, there is an information gap of 17 percentage points between patients covered by Medicare (77%) and Medicaid [...]

DPC Board Members to Serve on Three Technical Expert Panels

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T01:50:33+00:00April 7th, 2015|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Access to Transplant, Treatment Options|

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regularly schedules technical expert panels (TEPs) to advise the agency on quality measures. In the words of CMS, a TEP is “a group of stakeholders and experts who provide technical input…on the development, selection, and maintenance of measures for which CMS contractors are responsible.” CMS is contracting with the University of Michigan Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (UM-KECC) to host a TEP on the Dialysis Facility Compare star rating system. While the complete roster of participants is not public yet, we are pleased to announce that DPC Interim President Jack Reynolds was selected [...]

DPC to Host Regional Meetings
Gallery

DPC to Host Regional Meetings

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:04+00:00September 3rd, 2014|Categories: Article, State Advocacy, Treatment Options|

DPC is excited to announce the beginning of a new program to further engage kidney disease patients through education and advocacy. For the first time ever, DPC is hosting four regional meetings in sites around the country to bring dialysis patients together to engage on issues important to their care and well-being. The inaugural locations for these regional meetings are as follows: Detroit, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas and New York, New York. We have partnered with the American Psychological Association to provide an informative and engaging session on the importance of having good mental health as a kidney disease [...]

Kidney Care Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives
Gallery

Kidney Care Bill Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:05+00:00June 30th, 2014|Categories: Article, Care Coordination, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

Congressmen John Lewis (D-GA) and Tom Marino (R-PA) have introduced the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lewis and Marino are leaders on the Congressional Kidney Caucus and have been staunch supporters of dialysis patients over the years. This bill seeks to advance several proactive kidney care policy initiatives and provides a vehicle for educating Members of Congress and the public about the issues facing kidney disease patients and the kidney community as a whole. The bill would: Improve understanding of kidney disease: The legislation seeks to identify the gaps in critical [...]

We Need to Hear From You!

Hannah Bracamonte2024-03-29T02:08:07+00:00February 7th, 2014|Categories: Article, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Increase Quality of Care, Treatment Options|

DPC is currently working on two initiatives that require your input! First, the National Quality Forum is conducting a study of "Person-Centered Care" and is looking for patient input. DPC has volunteered to collect patient viewpoints on this subject, and we are inviting our members and other dialysis patients to share your experience with and insights into the care you've received. The National Quality Forum is an organization that endorses the standardized healthcare performance measures that are used by Medicare and other insurers to monitor quality. Its goal in this project is to figure out how to assess whether care is person-centered, which may [...]

Dialysis Patient Citizens

Recent News