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DPC Expresses Outrage at CMS Indifference to Dialysis Patient Suffering

2024-03-29T01:09:15+00:00October 31st, 2023|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, News, Staffing Shortages|

On October 27, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule updating payment rates and policies under the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system. This rule fails to address two serious problems currently facing dialysis patients, which DPC raised in its comment letter: workforce shortages and lack of access to innovative treatments. DPC’s statement on the Rule is available here.

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Dialysis Patient Citizens Responds to Disappointing Final CMS Rule That Will Harm Patient Healthcare

2024-03-29T01:09:15+00:00October 30th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis Funding, Innovation, News, Press Release, Staffing Shortages|

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 30, 2023) - Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation’s largest patient-led, non-profit advocacy group for dialysis patients, released the following statement in response to the final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which only increases Medicare reimbursements for dialysis treatment centers by 1.6% and fails to properly fund access to new therapies. “The End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) final rule released on Friday paints a chilling picture of an agency that is completely indifferent to the suffering of dialysis patients,” said DPC President Andrew Conkling. “The regulation acknowledges the heartbreaking stories from [...]

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Medicare Must Increase Access to Improvements in Dialysis Care

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00October 6th, 2023|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Innovation, Patient Stories in the News, Private Insurance Coverage, Treatment Options|

For people who live with a chronic illness, one of the most powerful words in the English language is hope. As a more than 20-year dialysis patient with end-stage renal disease, otherwise known as kidney failure, hope is a driving force in my life. My condition may never be cured, but new treatments are under development that could ease my symptoms. Every day, I hold out hope that a new, revolutionary treatment is around the corner that could help me and thousands like me live a more comfortable life. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is becoming a [...]

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Medicare Policy Proposal Jeopardizes Care for Those on Dialysis

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00September 8th, 2023|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Medicare Advantage, Policy Issues, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

CEOs of 3 kidney care organizations explain flaws in CMS' recent reimbursement proposal. In recent years, lawmakers have turned their attention to advancing health equity and creating opportunities for the improvement of historically underserved communities—and rightly so. The urgent need for such improvements is dramatically apparent for people who have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. While people of all races and ethnicities develop chronic kidney disease (CKD) at similar rates, ESRD disproportionately impacts people of color. Black Americans make up 13% of the US population, but the disparities are evident when one considers that they account for 35% of Americans with [...]

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DPC Raises Alarm on Health Workforce Shortages

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00August 23rd, 2023|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC’s letter commenting on this year’s ESRD Payment Rule warns that Medicare is not addressing workforce shortages that are impacting patient care. The letter reports the following findings from our recent member survey: 62% of patients reported that the recent labor shortages had impacted their care: 43% said that staff turnover disrupted their care; 28% reported delays to their treatment; and 7% reported that they had to change shifts or facilities. In 2013, in response to a question about wait times at facilities, the same proportion of patients, 14%, reported increases in wait times as decreases in wait times. This year, [...]

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Medicare Payment Rule for 2024 Shortchanges Dialysis Clinics on Rising Wages

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00July 6th, 2023|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Promote Financial Security|

As kidney and other healthcare providers face workforce shortages, inflation, and higher wage demands, the federal agency which oversees Medicare is proposing a mere 1.7% increase in dialysis reimbursements for 2024. According to the government’s own Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), wages and salaries increased 5.0% during the last year and increased 4.7% the year before; after insufficient updates over the past two years, Medicare payments are falling far behind the actual costs for clinic staff, potentially threatening patient access to care. Unlike updates to Social Security checks, which are determined by BLS inflation data, Medicare uses “forecasts” of future inflation. [...]

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Dialysis Patient Citizens Statement on New CMS Rule That Would Harm Patient Access to Care

2024-03-29T01:09:17+00:00June 29th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis Funding, News, Press Release|

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2023) -- Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation's largest dialysis patient advocacy organization, released the following statement regarding a new rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that would only increase reimbursement for dialysis treatments by 1.6% in calendar year 2024, while also falling short in funding access to new therapies. "This proposed rule sends a clear and unfortunate message that CMS does not prioritize access to care for kidney disease patients like me," said Andrew Conkling, DPC's Board Chair and a lifelong kidney patient. "Dialysis patients are already some of the most vulnerable Americans, and [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for CMS

2024-03-29T01:09:22+00:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, News, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Uncategorized|

August 18, 2022 Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD  21244 Re:       End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Proposed Rule (CMS-1768-P) Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced proposed rule. DPC's membership, currently over 30,000, is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. DPC is a patient-led organization.  Our by-laws require that the President, Vice President and at least 51% of the Board be current dialysis patients.  The non-dialysis patients serving on our Board [...]

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DPC Submits Comments on Medicare’s 2022 ESRD Payment Rule

2024-03-29T01:09:22+00:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC’s comment letter on Medicare’s 2022 ESRD Payment Rule highlighted the impact that labor shortages may have on dialysis patients. “Currently, there are nearly two job openings for every available unemployed worker. Vulnerable patients need a labor market in which there is a one-to-one ratio of health care workers for vacancies in essential jobs. Over the long term, the government may need to act to foster interest among young people in healthcare careers and facilitate their preparation for such roles. But in the immediate term, it is necessary to ensure that wages for jobs like dialysis technicians are competitive.” DPC is [...]

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Medicare Proposes Small Pay Increase for Dialysis Facilities

2024-03-29T01:10:06+00:00July 1st, 2022|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Medicare Advantage|

On June 21, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update payment rates and policies under the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for renal dialysis services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries for the year beginning January 1, 2023. Under the ESRD PPS for 2023, Medicare expects to pay $8.2 billion to approximately 7,800 ESRD facilities for furnishing dialysis services. The proposed 2023 ESRD PPS base rate is $264.09, which would be an increase of $6.19 to the current base rate of $257.90. CMS projects that the updates for CY 2023 would [...]

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