Ensuring a viable kidney care workforce
Medicare sets reimbursements for health care according to a formula and depends on CMS to accurately forecast costs. Due to years of accumulated under-forecasting of inflation and health sector wage increases, Medicare updates for dialysis facilities lag input costs. In particular, CMS has woefully under-reimbursed labor costs, subjecting dialysis nurses and technicians to poaching from employers who can pay market wages.
Health workforce shortages loom as the baby boom generation retires and migration to the U.S. is reversed. Not all health care job openings are being filled. DPC supports the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (KCAPA), which corrects past labor forecast errors and ensures accuracy in future Medicare rate updates.
Related Information
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