HI Folks
I went to my center today and we talked on monthly . I know we have talked on this before , but I see no real reason why someone who otherwise is in good health should have to go to center each month. When I talked about laws that apply to home dialysis and if a consumer must come to center every month. So far the only thing that seem to apply are protocols. I had talked with network 4 people a while back and got the same answer. So maybe someone here can give me the web site that in plain laymans term says that a consumer must go to a center once a month.
Also the center in talking about $$ issues saidthat there were only getting payed for 3 tx ,while I do 6 tx a wk. So it would seem if this is the case it would pay a center to have more people on home tx? The center gets payed for any supplies they give the home consumer ,yes?
Bob OBrien
Good question, Bob. I know this is standard practice in a lot of places, and MDs get paid by how often they see patients, but I don’t know if there is any sort of regulation that requires monthly visits, and some clinics may allow them every other month for folks who live in, say, Alaska and have to fly in to Seattle for clinic visits.
Also the center in talking about $$ issues saidthat there were only getting payed for 3 tx ,while I do 6 tx a wk. So it would seem if this is the case it would pay a center to have more people on home tx? The center gets payed for any supplies they give the home consumer, yes?
Um, no. Actually dialysis is paid for (by Medicare) using a “composite rate” for each treatment that is meant to cover the dialyzer, supplies, staff time, building rental, etc. It doesn’t cover some IV drugs, like EPO or vitamin D. Beth knows much more about what is and is not covered than I do. But Medicare pays for 3 treatments per week–at the composite rate–so folks who do 6 treatments most often have to have private insurance to keep the centers from losing money. Sometimes Medicare will pay for a 4th treatment, which helps a lot, but this varies from one part of the U.S. to another.
One of the benefits of nocturnal HD is that it can be done every other night at home, so folks can get much better dialysis than with standard in-center HD, and still fall within the Medicare payment rules, so the centers don’t lose money. It’s a win-win.
Hi Folks
Hi Dori
I hope you have great holiday season.
I still have a EGHP from my wife work place. It will be 30 months in June and I like the new center I"m with but the travel time is still a 100 mile round trip. And I can’t find what might happen with change over. Everyone reasures me that nothing will really happen, that medicare will take over as primary and my wife insurance will take over second. I don’t want to do wrong by the center , but it a hardship on me to travel every month the round trip. I’m 50 and outside of dialysis , I’m in great health. I had email Beth on it and went to a site Beth had place in her email back to me but it a whats what of looking for a law that says in laymans term if a center has the power to give people ,who do travel a distance a break.I thought I saw that anything over 30 miles was thought of as being the set miles.
Bob OBrien