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The Trouble With Bundles

2024-03-29T01:09:12+00:00February 19th, 2024|Categories: Increase Quality of Care, Innovation|

This op-ed was written by Jackson Williams, DPC Vice President of Public Policy, and originally published on AMJC's website: www.ajmc.com/view/contributor-the-trouble-with-bundles. Payment bundling is a technique aimed at increasing efficiency and reducing low-value care during a treatment episode.In recent years, it has expanded from prospective payment systems (PPS) centered upon a discrete treatment to encompass broader episodes of care surrounding such treatments. For the most part, policymakers and patient advocates have viewed these bundles as a benign form of cost containment. But a spate of new developments—including evaluation reports relating to CMMI Institute episode-based payment demonstrations and stories of patients unable to [...]

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DPC Expresses Outrage at CMS Indifference to Dialysis Patient Suffering

2024-03-29T01:09:15+00:00October 31st, 2023|Categories: Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, News, Staffing Shortages|

On October 27, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule updating payment rates and policies under the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system. This rule fails to address two serious problems currently facing dialysis patients, which DPC raised in its comment letter: workforce shortages and lack of access to innovative treatments. DPC’s statement on the Rule is available here.

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Dialysis Patient Citizens Responds to Disappointing Final CMS Rule That Will Harm Patient Healthcare

2024-03-29T01:09:15+00:00October 30th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis Funding, Innovation, News, Press Release, Staffing Shortages|

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 30, 2023) - Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation’s largest patient-led, non-profit advocacy group for dialysis patients, released the following statement in response to the final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which only increases Medicare reimbursements for dialysis treatment centers by 1.6% and fails to properly fund access to new therapies. “The End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) final rule released on Friday paints a chilling picture of an agency that is completely indifferent to the suffering of dialysis patients,” said DPC President Andrew Conkling. “The regulation acknowledges the heartbreaking stories from [...]

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Medicare Must Increase Access to Improvements in Dialysis Care

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00October 6th, 2023|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Innovation, Patient Stories in the News, Private Insurance Coverage, Treatment Options|

For people who live with a chronic illness, one of the most powerful words in the English language is hope. As a more than 20-year dialysis patient with end-stage renal disease, otherwise known as kidney failure, hope is a driving force in my life. My condition may never be cured, but new treatments are under development that could ease my symptoms. Every day, I hold out hope that a new, revolutionary treatment is around the corner that could help me and thousands like me live a more comfortable life. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is becoming a [...]

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Medicare Policy Proposal Jeopardizes Care for Those on Dialysis

2024-03-29T01:09:16+00:00September 8th, 2023|Categories: Access to Transplant, Article, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Innovation, Medicare Advantage, Policy Issues, Staffing Shortages, Treatment Options|

CEOs of 3 kidney care organizations explain flaws in CMS' recent reimbursement proposal. In recent years, lawmakers have turned their attention to advancing health equity and creating opportunities for the improvement of historically underserved communities—and rightly so. The urgent need for such improvements is dramatically apparent for people who have end-stage renal disease (ESRD), or kidney failure. While people of all races and ethnicities develop chronic kidney disease (CKD) at similar rates, ESRD disproportionately impacts people of color. Black Americans make up 13% of the US population, but the disparities are evident when one considers that they account for 35% of Americans with [...]

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2021 Annual Survey Last Call!

2024-03-29T01:10:13+00:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Access to Transplant, Article, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Patient's Voice, Protect Patient Care, Quality Incentive Program, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection, Transportation Services, Treatment Options|Tags: |

24 hours remain to complete our survey. Make sure to complete your survey for a chance at one of 10 remaining $100 gift certificates. Our 2021 Annual Membership Survey is live, and it will remain open until Friday, August 27. Your feedback helps to shape our public policy agenda and patient education priorities for the next year. This year we ask that both patients and caregivers take our survey. Rest assured your responses will remain completely anonymous. We only share the overall survey results with state and federal level policy makers, so they will better understand your needs, experiences, and [...]

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Both Sides of the Aisle Agree – We Need to Help Kidney Patients

2024-03-29T01:10:15+00:00June 9th, 2021|Categories: Advance Patient Choice, Dialysis Funding, Improve Access to Care, Increase Quality of Care, Innovation, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Protect Patient Care|

On June 8, 2021, Senators Benjamin Cardin (D-MA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) re-introduced The Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act (S.1971), a bipartisan, bicameral bill designed to not only raise awareness of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but also improve understanding and access to treatment for patients, which includes the Jack Reynolds Memorial Medigap Expansion Act. The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more that 1 in 7 US adults (about 37 million people) have CKD and that as many as 9 out of 10 of those adults [...]

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DPC Board Member Donnie Anderson Addresses CDC Infection Control Conference

2024-03-29T01:10:16+00:00May 12th, 2021|Categories: Innovation, News, Patient's Voice|Tags: |

Recorded for the 2021 Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition Virtual Meeting DPC Board Member Donnie Anderson spoke on a panel entitled "COVID-19 from The Patient Perspective” at the CDC’s 2021 Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition meeting. The virtual conference held in May was the Coalition’s fourth meeting to advance efforts to prevent bloodstream infections in dialysis patients. The conference facilitated information-sharing and idea generation among dialysis and infection prevention experts.

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

2024-03-29T01:12:03+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 [...]

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DPC’s 2020 Annual Membership Survey is Live!

2024-03-29T01:12:03+00:00August 6th, 2020|Categories: 5-Star Ratings, Access to Transplant, Article, Care Coordination, Charitable Premium Assistance, Dental Coverage, Dialysis Funding, Get Involved, Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage, Innovation, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Medigap Coverage, Quality Incentive Program, Take Action, Transplant Donor Protection, Transportation Services, Treatment Options|Tags: |

Elevate the Voice of Patients with Kidney Disease and Their Caregivers Our 2020 Annual Membership Survey is live, and it will remain open until Friday, August 21. We are counting on your participation, as patient feedback helps to shape our public policy agenda and patient education priorities for the next year. This year we ask that both patients and caregivers take our survey. Rest assured your responses will remain completely anonymous. We only share the overall survey results with state and federal level policy makers, so they will better understand your needs, experiences, and preferences. Your feedback is crucial. Therefore, we will [...]

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