Medicare ESRD PPS Proposed Rule: What You Need to Know
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the proposed End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule for renal dialysis services for Calendar Year 2024. This proposed rule is expected to give providers a 1.6% reimbursement increase, which is significantly lower than the inflationary increases providers have experienced and fails to…
Taking Positive Steps to Improve Home Dialysis, Transplant, and Patient Safety
Over the last few years, home dialysis, transplant access, and patient safety have emerged as major objectives of the Biden Administration. Yet, current quality performance measures used by federal regulators fall short in addressing safety concerns and barriers to transplant and home dialysis access – which is why Kidney Care Partners and other members of…
Dozens of Healthcare Organizations Unite in Support of Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Prevent Discrimination & Ensure Insurance Access
In the decades since the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Benefit was established, the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have experienced kidney failure had the comfort of knowing that the choice of staying on their private healthcare plans for up to 30 months before Medicare took over their care was an available option. This…
Legal Protections for Living Organ Donors Are Increasing. But More Needs to Be Done.
There is newfound momentum for laws that protect living organ donors, with eight states enacting new legislation in the past several months. Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Virginia are making strides in increasing living donor protections. The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has been leading efforts at the state and federal levels to…
KCP Members Head to Capitol Hill to Advocate for Improvements in Kidney Care
An estimated 37 million US adults – 1 in 7 – have chronic kidney disease (CKD), and 90 percent of them have no idea. Furthermore, having diabetes and/or heart disease are major contributing factors leading to CKD. With tens of millions more adults at risk for developing CKD and a health care system inadequately prepared…
Prioritizing Mental Health for Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease
Many studies have shown us that living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) can have adverse impacts on individuals’ mental health. Patients are already juggling numerous responsibilities on top of dialysis treatments: jobs, personal lives, medications, maintaining a proper diet, and more. Depression, anxiety, and stress, common among CKD patients,…
New Article Highlights Kidney Community’s Response to COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic may be far from over, but the way our community responded to the pandemic undoubtedly saved many lives. In a recent article for Fierce Healthcare, Drs. Brigitte Schiller and Mary Dittrich, Chief Medical Officers for Satellite Healthcare and U.S. Renal Care, respectively, outline healthcare providers’ unique challenges and successes in caring for those…
Mental Health Awareness Month: Kidney Disease and Mental Health
Those of us who work closely with kidney patients know all too well that kidney disease takes not only a serious physical toll, but for many people, it also has a major impact on mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month, observed every May, provides us with the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the…
The Importance of Patient Choice in Home Dialysis
Whether by carrot or by stick, the 2019 Advancing American Kidney Health Initiative (AAKHI) Executive Order and its associated voluntary (Kidney Care Choices) and mandatory (ESRD Treatment Choices) models incentivize dialysis providers and nephrologists to increase rates of home dialysis and transplantation in their patient populations. The Rogosin Institute believes that promoting patient choice – and…
Raising Awareness: April is National Donate Life Month
The North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO) has been providing education and professional development for donation and transplant professionals for over 40 years. Our organization partners with many associations to help increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissues available to save and heal lives through transplantation while developing a culture where donation is embraced…