Review of new health care plan

Dori or Beth,
Can you give a brief review of expected changes and how the new plan will affect dialysis services? When does the plan take effect? There is upset at my unit for what they perceive to be losses for patients as well as themselves.

Hi Jane,
The upset you’re seeing is because no-one yet KNOWS exactly what will be in the bundle, but whatever it is, it will change the way clinics bill for services. Not knowing is very stressful. Once the actual bundle is released, we can (and most likely will, knowing us ;-)) comment on what impact it may have.

The new health reform law did not mandate that Medicare pay dialysis clinics differently from the composite rate that was established in 1983. The requirement for CMS to establish an expanded bundled payment for dialysis was part of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act signed by Pres. George Bush in July 2008.

As Dori said, no one knows yet exactly what will be included in the bundle and how facilities will be paid. Here’s a July 2009 Topic of the Month about MIPPA on Home Dialysis Central:
http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/tom/200907/