NEWS ARTICLES

For 50 years, the community-based dialysis center where I work has helped close healthcare gaps in our community by ensuring that patients can access high-quality kidney care in a convenient setting. But next January, a pending policy would make it much harder for our patients to maintain control over their care. Here’s why.  Click here…

Fifty years ago, the government created the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease system to ensure that all patients with end-stage renal disease (ERSD), or kidney failure, could access dialysis treatment. The 1972 legislation was, in part, intended to prevent policies that were effectively rationing life-saving care at the time.    Click here to read the full article.

CMS and HHS have announced a proposed rule aimed at improving the performance of transplant centers and addressing disparities in access to kidney transplants. The 6-year demonstration would be mandatory for about one-third of transplant centers in the United States and begin Jan. 1, 2025. Click here to read the full article.

Healio | Nephrology News & Issues recently interviewed Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, the new chair of Kidney Care Partners, about goals for the advocacy group in the coming year. Click here to see the full article.

Roughly 37 million Americans live with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and of those 37 million, more than 800,000 have seen their condition progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), also known as kidney failure. For these individuals, access to life-sustaining kidney care, including critical dialysis treatments, means the difference between life and death. Unfortunately, a recent Supreme…

Nationwide, the kidney care community faces myriad problems that are stretching resources thin and undermining patient access to care. As in many other health care sectors, the past several years have seen a growing workforce shortage among dialysis providers and nephrology registered nurses (RNs). High rates of burnout, an aging workforce, and the economic impact…

In the pursuit of progress in patient-centered kidney care, it is essential to recognize the vital role that access to innovation plays in providing hope to people battling kidney disease. Click here to see the full article.

CMS has released a final rule for the prospective payment system that increases the Medicare bundled payment rate for dialysis treatments by 2.1% in 2024, up from a 1.6% increase proposed in June. The new base rate will be $271.02 starting Jan. 1. Click here to see the full article.

Medicare payments to hospital-based dialysis centers will increase 3.1% in 2024, while freestanding centers will see a 2% payment bump under a final rule from Biden administration. Click here to see the full article.

Kidney Care Partners called CMS’ final 2024 end-stage renal disease pay rule a “slap in the face” Friday (Oct. 27) as the coalition says the rule’s 2.1% pay update is grossly insufficient and the agency has set up a pay cliff with its post-Transitional Drug Add-on Payment Adjustment pay policy finalized in Friday’s rule. Click…