Below is one of the stated goal of the Kidney Care Council:Washington, D.C.
May 8, 2007
DIALYSIS CENTERS SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE
MEDICARE ESRD PAYMENT REFORM
The Kidney Care Council (KCC) is a trade association of eleven renal care companies including large, small, nonprofit and for-profit companies that collectively provide End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) services to nearly 80 percent of the country’s dialysis patients.
The members of the KCC are dedicated to ensuring high quality patient care. We recognize that Congress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) have spent considerable time examining the ESRD payment system in an effort to improve efficiency and assure high quality care in a fiscally responsible manner. In that regard, the KCC looks forward to working with Congress in support of comprehensive reform of the Medicare ESRD payment policy.
A number of proposals for reform have been discussed including broadening the current ESRD composite rate – the “payment bundle” – as well as drug reimbursement reform. Through such reform, our objectives are to preserve patient access to high quality care and remove any perception that financial considerations impact the delivery of dialysis care.
Any reform methodology should establish an annual reimbursement update mechanism that incorporates quality achievement and improvement. It should be noted that payment for dialysis services is the only prospective payment system in the Medicare program that does not receive an annual inflation adjustment. As a result, comprehensive and balanced reform is needed to ensure that Medicare reimbursement keeps pace with treatment costs while preserving patient access to high quality care.
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The Kidney Care Council (KCC) is a nonprofit Washington-based health care trade association of eleven renal care companies that collectively provide End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) services to nearly 80 percent of the dialysis patients in the United States. The membership includes large, small, nonprofit and for-profit provider companies. The KCC’s mission is to improve patient care through demonstrable improvements in patient outcomes, patient safety, and quality of life measures. The KCC is dedicated to improving quality as well as promoting education so that newly diagnosed patients fully understand this disease and how to slow its progression and reduce complications. http://www.asn-online.org/newsletter/renal_policy_express/PDFs_Documents-Policy%20Xpress/KCC%20statement.doc*************************************
The CHAMP Act seems to be where the focus of the council is right now...08/02/2007
House passes CHAMP Act
Despite raising Republican ire and a veto threat by President Bush, the U.S. House of Representatives voted, largely along party lines, to pass legislation that would expand the federal program to take care of uninsured children but also make significant changes to the end-stage renal disease program.
The Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 passed the House by a vote of 225 to 204. The support came from 220 Democrats and five Republicans. Among the opposition were 10 Democrats and 194 Republicans.
The House bill would provide an extra $50 billion to the program, giving it a total of $75 billion over the next five years.
Funding would come from a cigarette tax and cuts to Medicare Advantage plans as well as
cuts to the ESRD program, which could be up to $3.6 billion between 2008 and 2017, according to Congressional Budget Office estimate of the House bill. The Senate is considering less expensive version of the bill, which would provide an extra $35 billion, to give the children’s program a total of $60 billion for the next five years. The bill could come to a vote as early as Thursday, ahead of Congress' August recess.
The crux of the issue between the two parties is that of universal healthcare. The Democrats are accusing the Republicans of not wanting to take care of the nation’s children whereas Republicans are resurrecting Cold War fears by throwing around the dirty word of socialism when attacking the legislation.
Regardless, if the bill passes through Senate, it would still have to be reconciled with the House bill before it gets sent to be vetoed by President Bush.
Some ESRD-specific provisions in the House version of the CHAMP ACT Chronic kidney disease demonstration projects to increase education, screening and surveillance Medicare-covered kidney disease patient education services Required training of dialysis technicians
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) must report on the barriers to home dialysis
Epogen reimbursement will be cut to $8.75 per thousand units for large dialysis organization with more than 300 facilities. If less, it will be reimbursed at 102 percent of the average sales price
Aranesp reimbursement will be cut to $2.92 per microgram for LDOs, or if less, it will be reimbursed at 102 percent of the average sales price
Hospital-based dialysis facilities will be reimbursed at the same rate as non-hospital-based dialysis clinics
A bundled payment system—including erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, other drugs and lab tests—will be implemented by 2010 with a reimbursement rate equal to 96 percent of all ESRD payments in an unbundled system
Quality incentive payments based on measures, such as anemia management and vascular access http://www.renalbusiness.com/blogs/keith/
Mongo
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