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About Hannah Bracamonte

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So far Hannah Bracamonte has created 654 blog entries.

Re: CMS-3337-IFC: Medicare Program; Conditions for Coverage for End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities—Third Party Payment

2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00January 10th, 2017|Categories: Charitable Premium Assistance, Comment Letter|

Re: CMS-3337-IFC: Medicare Program; Conditions for Coverage for End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities--Third Party Payment To whom it may concern: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced interim final rule. We are requesting that the Agency withdraw the rule and follow the notice-and-comment rulemaking process prescribed by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). We explain below why this unusual regulatory action reached an incorrect result. DPC's membership is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. We have more than 28,000 total members. DPC is a patient-led organization. Its by-laws require that the President, Vice [...]

Dialysis Patient Advocates Seek Restraining Order Against CMS

2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00January 9th, 2017|Categories: Access to Transplant, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Medigap Coverage, Press Release, State Advocacy|

Lawsuit charges that CMS rule to take effect Jan. 13 gives insurers illegal veto power over access to private coverage Washington, D.C. – Advocates for dialysis patients filed suit in federal court today to prevent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing a rule that could force patients off their current health plans and jeopardize their access to care. The regulation, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Dec. 13 outside the formal rulemaking process, gives insurers the power to prevent dialysis patients from receiving charitable premium assistance that makes it possible for [...]

Protecting Dialysis Patients’ Health Coverage

2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00January 9th, 2017|Categories: Access to Transplant, Blog, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Legal Defense, Medigap Coverage|Tags: |

By Hrant Jamgochian, CEO Dialysis Patient Citizens Across the country, thousands of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) face the agonizing choice of paying for necessities such as rent and food, or paying the insurance premiums that enable them to get dialysis and other critical care. Fortunately, ESRD patients have options. Thanks to federal law, they can enroll in Medicare at any age. Or, if they would rather keep a private insurance plan, they can apply for financial help from charities such as the American Kidney Fund. These payments are a lifeline that enables patients to maintain their existing coverage and [...]

Dialysis Patients Outraged by CMS Move Giving Insurers Illegal Veto Power Over Access to Private Coverage

2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00December 19th, 2016|Categories: Access to Transplant, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Legal Defense, Medigap Coverage, Press Release|

Dialysis Patient Citizens says CMS rule tacitly allows insurers to discriminate based on patients’ health condition Washington, D.C. – Advocates for dialysis patients are outraged by an interim final rule issued late yesterday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that could force patients off their current health plans and jeopardize their access to care. The rule, which CMS wrote with the stated purpose of ensuring that dialysis patients receive accurate information about their health coverage options, instead empowers insurers to prevent those patients from receiving charitable premium assistance that makes their health insurance affordable. “The administration is [...]

CMS Updates Policies and Payment Rates for End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (CMS 1651-F)

2024-03-29T01:13:41+00:00November 14th, 2016|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Quality Incentive Program, Treatment Options|

On October 28, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates payment policies and rates under the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for renal dialysis services furnished beginning January 1, 2017. Under the ESRD PPS for 2017, Medicare expects to pay approximately $9 billion to approximately 6,000 ESRD facilities to cover dialysis services. The finalized 2017 ESRD base rate will be $231.55. CMS projects that the updates for 2017 will increase total payments to all ESRD facilities by 0.73 percent compared with 2016, amounting to about $80 million. CMS is finalizing an increase to [...]

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