Comment Letter Archives - Dialysis Patient Citizens

DPC Responds to Medicare’s Move Toward Medically Necessary Dental Care
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DPC Responds to Medicare’s Move Toward Medically Necessary Dental Care

Hannah Bracamonte2022-09-20T17:37:03+00:00August 26th, 2022|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage|

DPC submitted a comment letter applauding the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its announcement that it will cover dental work for kidney transplant candidates when oral health issues are a barrier to transplant surgery. “This proposal is an important recognition and clarification of CMS’s existing authority, which will help to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can access and afford more of the dental care they need to advance their health,” DPC said. CMS also asked whether there are “types of surgery, or clinical scenarios involving acute or chronic conditions that would have an improved patient outcome if certain dental [...]

DPC’s Letter to Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for CMS, on Move Toward Medically Necessary Dental Care
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DPC’s Letter to Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for CMS, on Move Toward Medically Necessary Dental Care

Hannah Bracamonte2022-09-15T17:41:44+00:00August 25th, 2022|Categories: Comment Letter, Dental Coverage, Medicare Advantage, Protect Patient Care|

August 25, 2022 Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Re: CMS-1770-P (Section II.L.) Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced proposed rule. DPC's membership, currently over 30,000, is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. DPC is a patient-led organization. Our by-laws require that the President, Vice President and at least 51% of the Board be current dialysis patients. The non-dialysis patients serving on our Board are former dialysis patients with kidney transplants. Our volunteer board members have represented [...]

DPC’s Letter to Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for CMS
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DPC’s Letter to Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for CMS

Hannah Bracamonte2022-08-24T17:15:36+00:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, News, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Uncategorized|

August 18, 2022 Hon. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Re: End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Proposed Rule (CMS-1768-P) Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced proposed rule. DPC's membership, currently over 30,000, is restricted to kidney disease patients and their family members. DPC is a patient-led organization. Our by-laws require that the President, Vice President and at least 51% of the Board be current dialysis patients. The non-dialysis patients serving on our Board [...]

DPC Submits Comments on Medicare’s 2022 ESRD Payment Rule
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DPC Submits Comments on Medicare’s 2022 ESRD Payment Rule

Hannah Bracamonte2022-08-24T17:15:15+00:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC’s comment letter on Medicare’s 2022 ESRD Payment Rule highlighted the impact that labor shortages may have on dialysis patients. “Currently, there are nearly two job openings for every available unemployed worker. Vulnerable patients need a labor market in which there is a one-to-one ratio of health care workers for vacancies in essential jobs. Over the long term, the government may need to act to foster interest among young people in healthcare careers and facilitate their preparation for such roles. But in the immediate term, it is necessary to ensure that wages for jobs like dialysis technicians are competitive.” DPC is [...]

DPC’s Letter to Dr. Meena Seshamani, Deputy Administrator and Director for CMS

Hannah Bracamonte2022-03-18T14:25:45+00:00March 7th, 2022|Categories: Comment Letter, Increase Quality of Care, Policy Issues, Protect Patient Care|

March 7, 2022 Dr. Meena Seshamani Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244 Re: Dialysis Workforce Issues Dear Dr. Seshamani: We are writing to express our concerns about shortages of labor and supplies that are causing disruptions in dialysis treatments. We urge CMS and its sister operating divisions in HHS to develop plans for health care workforce generally and dialysis workforce in particular; and to make whatever adjustments are necessary to Medicare payment policy necessary to assure patients’ access to care. To the best of our recollection, the U.S. is experiencing a tight labor market [...]

DPC Urges Medicare Officials to Take Action on Dialysis Workforce Shortages
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DPC Urges Medicare Officials to Take Action on Dialysis Workforce Shortages

Hannah Bracamonte2022-03-22T13:00:50+00:00March 7th, 2022|Categories: Article, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Medicare Advantage|

DPC has written to top Medicare officials asking that they develop policy options to address the current labor shortage. The letter notes that the lengthy rulemaking process used to update payments to healthcare providers is ill-suited to react to urgent changes in the labor market. Fourteen years ago, the prestigious Institute of Medicine warned that as Americans aged, there would be fewer workers to take care of more elderly and disabled individuals. DPC’s letter urges officials to take another look at the report, which recommended “wage pass through” components of provider payments to address rising wages and delegating more responsibilities to [...]

DPC Urges Medicare to Add Resources for Health Equity
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DPC Urges Medicare to Add Resources for Health Equity

Hannah Bracamonte2021-08-26T12:12:42+00:00August 19th, 2021|Categories: Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program|

DPC has filed its letter commenting on this year’s Medicare ESRD Proposed Rule, which governs payments to dialysis facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) heralded this year’s payment rules as undertaking new initiatives to reduce health disparities. DPC’s letter critiques these initiatives as insufficient and endorses alternative approaches. CMS is proposing to collect new data on racial disparities, and to stratify quality measures so that facilities serving disadvantaged patients no longer receive QIP payment reductions simply because patients are poor. DPC endorses these moves, but points to recent calls by experts to address disparities by supplementing payments to [...]

DPC Comments on CMS Proposed ESRD Annual Payment Rule to Increase Dialysis Patient Quality Care
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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed ESRD Annual Payment Rule to Increase Dialysis Patient Quality Care

Hannah Bracamonte2020-09-22T15:12:47+00:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Access to Transplant, Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Innovation, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Quality Incentive Program, Treatment Options|

Each year—typically during the summer—the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) puts out rules for how they are going to pay for dialysis treatment. The rules reflect CMS’ latest policies, and organizations have the opportunity to provide feedback about the rules before they go into effect on January 1. DPC provided feedback to CMS regarding their End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Annual Payment rule. DPC’s letter addresses the following important topics for improving ESRD patient care: Protect Access for Costlier Patients by Completing Reconsideration of Case-Mix Adjusters Protect Access for Patients in Disadvantaged Regions by Addressing Social Risk Factors Focus [...]

DPC Supports Increased Access and Quality of Care for Dialysis Patients Amid COVID-19
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DPC Supports Increased Access and Quality of Care for Dialysis Patients Amid COVID-19

Hannah Bracamonte2022-07-08T17:54:46+00:00March 23rd, 2020|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Increase Quality of Care, Medicare Advantage, Transportation Services, Treatment Options|Tags: COVID-19|

DPC provided feedback to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the COVID-19-related issues that the kidney community is facing. DPC made recommendations to HHS in the following areas: Transportation COVID-19 Treatments and Vaccinations Home Dialysis People with End-Stage Renal Disease have a higher risk for developing a severe illness from COVID-19. As a result, it is crucial we do all that we can to help this vulnerable population in order to decrease the negative impact and spread of the virus. Read DPC's letter to HHS below for more details: Kumiko Lippold, PhD, MPH Department of Health [...]

DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding Medicare Advantage
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DPC Comments on CMS Proposed Rule Regarding Medicare Advantage

Hannah Bracamonte2020-03-31T19:36:28+00:00March 10th, 2020|Categories: Care Coordination, Comment Letter, Medicare Advantage, Treatment Options|

In 2021 End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients will be permitted to enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, potentially bringing major changes to ESRD care and how patients experience it. When open enrollment begins this fall, we want to make sure patients have access to the same robust benefits offered with MA plans right now. DPC reached out to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with recommendations on how to ensure ESRD patients maintain the access, choice and quality care they expect when these benefits are available to everyone. Currently, the only ESRD patients with MA plans are those [...]

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