On September 15, CMS announced a proposed rule for a new prospective payment system (“PPS”) for outpatient end-stage renal disease dialysis facilities (“ESRDs”). The PPS would bundle items and services (e.g. dialysis treatment, prescription drugs and clinical laboratory tests) provided during the dialysis services into a single payment. The bundle would thus include items and services that are currently paid separately (e.g. drugs) from the current composite rate payment made to ESRDs. CMS would pay a base bundled rate of $198.64 for all of the services related to a dialysis session, with case-mix adjustments for certain patient characteristics (e.g. age and time on dialysis), conditions and co-morbidities. Comments to the proposed rule are due to CMS by November 16, 2009. You can view CMS’s press release here and the proposed rule here.
von Briesen Health Law Blog
