You may or may not have heard about some of the recent health care issues affecting the kidney community. In September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued a proposed bundle affecting individuals who are on dialysis. AAKP has been involved in many discussions and its Public Policy Committee has spent time reviewing the document to assess its effect on patient care.     
 
AAKP's concern is that this new bundled payment could limit access to care for patients who might inadvertently decrease the bundled reimbursement. A patient who medically requires more previously unbundled drugs and/or diagnostic studies may not be accepted for treatment in facilities trying to maximize their margin. Any system that links financial incentives or financial disincentives with limiting access to health care for certain types of patients is easily abused by cherry picking and requires thorough confirmation of self reported performance measures.

You can read AAKP's verbal comment from the Town Hall Meeting of October 23, 2009. AAKP is also formalizing a written response. If you would like to share your comments with AAKP, please send an e-mail to policy@aakp.org. AAKP encourages you to share your thoughts and experiences with CMS. The deadline for comments has been extended until December 16, 2009.  

This article originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of Renal Flash.