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DPC Responds to Medicare Dialysis Payment Rule

2026-08-26T14:47:07+00:00August 26th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

DPC submitted comments on Medicare’s proposed payment update for 2027. DPC urged CMS to change its current policies, which continue to cause financial stress to dialysis care, staffing shortages, and lack of patient access to new and innovative therapies. For 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to increase the ESRD PPS base rate to $299.55, which will increase total payments to ESRD facilities by approximately 1.1%. However, DPC notes, the current inflation rate is 3.4%, the Wall Street Journal’s expert panel of economists forecasts 3.4% inflation for the next year, and the most recent producer price [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on CMS-1846-P: CY 2027 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury Dialysis (AKI) Payment, and ESRD Quality Incentive Program

2026-08-25T14:49:06+00:00August 24th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Comment Letter, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

August 24, 2026 The Honorable Mehmet Oz, Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20001 Re:       CMS-1846-P: CY 2027 Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System, Acute Kidney Injury Dialysis (AKI) Payment, and ESRD Quality Incentive Program Dear Dr. Oz Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) offers comments on the above referenced Rule. DPC's membership, currently about 35,000, 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 [...]

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Advocacy Day 2026

2026-07-23T14:32:39+00:00July 20th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Medigap Coverage, News, Patient Ambassadors, Policy Issues, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

During June 29th – 30th, DPC hosted our annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. bringing together patients, family members, and care partners to meet with their Members of Congress to help elevate the dialysis patient voice. This year, 62 advocates attended our fly-in from 29 states, meeting with more than 90 Members of Congress and/or their staff. Advocates spoke with their Senators and Representative urging support for the Restore Act (H.R. 2199/S. 1173), which would allow patients to keep their private insurance coverage for the full 30-month transition period, and for the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (S. 2730 / H.R. 6214), [...]

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Patient Advocates Head to D.C.

2026-06-24T15:39:03+00:00June 24th, 2026|Categories: About DPC, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Patient Ambassadors, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Take Action|

DPC is excited to welcome this year’s group of patient advocates to Washington, D.C. June 29th – 30th for our Annual Advocacy Day Event. Our advocates will be meeting with their representatives on the Hill to discuss two very important pieces of legislation for kidney patients:  S. 2730 / H.R. 6214 – The Kidney Care Access Protection Act and H.R. 2199 / S. 1173 – The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. If you have not yet done so, please take a moment to urge your representatives to co-sponsor these two bills. Access to innovation and private insurance are critical to [...]

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At Last, A Shorter Patient Experience Survey Comes Out This Spring!

2026-04-20T15:03:09+00:00April 20th, 2026|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News|

By Alethea Walls, DPC Board of Directors Medicare’s In-Center Hemodialysis CAHPS (ICH CAHPS) Survey is one of the most meaningful tools patients have to share their experiences and influence improvements in dialysis care. We’re pleased to report that beginning with the next survey round, the questionnaire has been shortened to 39 questions, reducing the length of the old survey by 23 questions. For years, DPC has pointed out to Medicare officials the burden to dialysis patients of this survey. When Medicare surveys health plan enrollees or hospital patients about their satisfaction, they are able to use small samples of large populations. [...]

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One Week Left to Apply – 2026 Advocacy Day

2026-01-21T19:32:39+00:00January 21st, 2026|Categories: Article, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care|

Applications for DPC’s 2026 Advocacy Day are due next Friday, January 30th! Be sure to submit your application for a chance to come to Washington, D.C., June 29 – 30, 2026, and speak with your members of Congress about important pieces of legislation that will help improve the lives of kidney patients. Participants will be selected based on the quality of their application, legislative priorities, and previous involvement in DPC's advocacy efforts. We will hold a training session ahead of our advocacy day for those participating to explain the process and review the legislation. If you are interested, please complete the [...]

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Giving Thanks

2025-11-25T18:09:52+00:00November 25th, 2025|Categories: About DPC, Advance Patient Choice, Article, Dialysis Funding, Get Involved, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, News, Patient Ambassadors, Patient's Voice, Policy Issues, Press, Private Insurance Coverage, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Treatment Options|

As we approach Thanksgiving this week, DPC would like to take a moment to thank all of our phenomenal Board Members, Patient Ambassadors, and kidney advocates for sharing their stories and fighting to improve the quality of life for dialysis and kidney transplant patients nationwide. DPC Board Members Hasan Artharee and Ken Stephens recently shared videos on their kidney journeys and two important pieces of legislation that are currently in Congress that would have a major impact on patient quality of life. As a fourth-generation PKD patient and the third in his family to undergo dialysis, Hasan knows firsthand the challenges [...]

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Support S. 2730 – The Kidney Care Access Protection Act

2025-09-23T17:46:01+00:00September 23rd, 2025|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Article, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, News, Promote Financial Security, Take Action|

In early September, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced The Kidney Care Access Protection Act (S. 2730) which would strengthen Medicare’s kidney care benefits by ensuring fair reimbursement for and access to quality care. This bipartisan legislation has been endorsed by Kidney Care Partners, the American Kidney Fund, Dialysis Patient Citizens, and the Renal Support Network (RSN). Specifically, this bill would establish a long-term, sustainable Medicare payment pathway for innovative drugs, devices, and technologies. It would also implement a forecast error adjustment policy that accurately accounts for inflationary costs to help keep healthcare facilities financially viable. [...]

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DPC Comment Letter to CMS Recounts Heartbreaking Story of Rural Dialysis Clinic Closure

2025-08-28T13:48:55+00:00August 28th, 2025|Categories: Comment Letter, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

DPC has submitted its comments responding to this year’s Medicare ESRD Payment Rule. The Medicare agency is proposing a payment update of only 1.9%, which doesn’t keep pace with increasing costs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in June, while inflation was 2.7%. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently reported that dialysis clinics’ Medicare margin was –1.1 percent in 2022 and –0.2 percent in 2023. They project a 2025 FFS Medicare margin of 0 percent. The comment letter brought officials’ attention to the story of a [...]

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DPC’s Letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, on ESRD Prospective Payment System

2025-09-11T17:44:31+00:00August 27th, 2025|Categories: Comment Letter, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Policy Issues, Promote Financial Security, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

August 27, 2025 The Honorable Mehmet Oz Administrator Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 200 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC  20001 Re: CMS-1830-P - End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System  Dear Dr. Oz: Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC) writes to offer its comments on the above referenced proposed rule. DPC's membership, currently about 35,000, 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 [...]

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