A recent report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asks Congress to implement a fully bundled prospective payment system (PPS) for dialysis services. Representatives from AAKP served on the bundling committee for a patient perspective.
 
Currently, Medicare pays for certain dialysis services under a partial bundled rate, which is referred to as a composite rate. This system requires separate billing for medications, laboratory services, dialysis supplies and blood products.
 
The CMS report wants to establish a base treatment payment rate for services related to a dialysis session, including the services in the current composite rate as well as items that are billed separately.
 
A fully bundled end-stage renal disease (ESRD) PPS would give dialysis facilities the opportunity to improve clinical outcomes, enhance quality of care for beneficiaries and eliminate incentives for overusing separately billed items.

This article originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of AAKP Public Policy Briefing.