Hospital-based end stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities are poised to receive a 2.6% increase in the ESRD prospective payment proposed rule for 2024, but home-based dialysis care is gaining traction. Experts are also recommending earlier screening for chronic kidney disease.
Under the 2024 End Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System proposed rule, CMS is offering a 2.6% bump to hospital-based facilities and 1.6% to freestanding ESRD facilities, Healthcare Finance News reports. The proposed rule would also increase payment for certain new renal dialysis drugs and biological products, which CMS hopes will lower barriers to innovative treatments.
In 2022, 26.6% of Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD were receiving dialysis, up from 13.3% in 2020. Modern Healthcare explains that policymakers have focused on kidney disease in recent years, with the Trump administration launching a late-term initiative to move 80% of newly diagnosed kidney failure patients to receive transplants or home dialysis by 2025.
Medicare pays the same rate for home dialysis and in-facility treatment, but home dialysis treatment has been found to cost $50 less than facility treatments, likely due to the cost of staff at facilities.
As cases increase as the American population ages, scientific societies like the Spanish Society for General and Family Physicians (SEMG) are proposing screening patients at younger ages to tackle chronic kidney disease before it progresses. According to Medscape, nearly all patients seen in primary care are candidates for screening due to kidney disease risk factors.
A study published in the JAMA Network Open found that historical housing discrimination, also called redlining, led to worse cardiovascular health for U.S. veterans. The analysis used data from the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and medical data from Veterans Affairs, the Washington Post reports.
Kidney care company Strive Health announced it was awarded $166 million from a partnership between venture capital fund New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and CVS Health Ventures, Mobi Health News reports.
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