DPC Comments on 2015 Prospective Payment System and QIP
Hon. Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20201 Re: CMS-1614-P: End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System, Quality Incentive Program, and Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies Dear Administrator Tavenner: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) appreciates the opportunity to provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) with comments on the proposed payment rule for the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program. As America’s largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, DPC’s membership consists of more than 26,000 dialysis and pre-dialysis [...]
New Medicare Rule for Dialysis Facilities Brings Changes to “Pay for Performance” Formula
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Proposed Rule specifying how dialysis facilities will be paid in 2015 and beyond. Most of the proposed changes relate to the Quality Improvement Program for dialysis. The Quality Improvement Program (QIP) sets performance standards for each clinic and penalizes clinics that do not meet or make progress toward the standards by cutting their payments by up to two percent. The purpose is to incentivize providers to do a better job by tying their pay to performance. This year’s rule proposes several changes including new measures related to: patient [...]
Quality Incentive Program in July
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has an ongoing quality incentive program, the first of its kind, for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) care. The quality incentive program, or QIP, is intended to improve the care provided to ESRD patients by paying dialysis facilities based on the quality of care they deliver. If a facility fails to meet certain performance standards, they may receive a lower performance score, which results in lower payments to the facility. Each July, CMS releases a proposed rule with changes they suggest for the following year’s ESRD QIP. This rule is published online [...]