DPC’s Letter to Hon. Jonathan Blum, Principal Deputy Administrator for CMS, on New Drugs in the ESRD PPS
June 11, 2024 The Honorable Jonathan Blum Principal Deputy Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20515 Re: New drugs in the ESRD PPS Dear Principal Deputy Administrator Blum: In our comments on the 2024 ESRD payment rule, we expressed our concerns about how patients experienced the rollout of Korsuva, the drug that treats ESRD-related pruritis. We noted that the prescribing behavior of nephrologists has amounted to, in effect, a de facto embargo of the medication. Empirical research has found a prevalence of moderate to severe pruritis among dialysis patients of 33 percent, but [...]