The CMS has proposed a new rule linking Medicare payment for end-stage renal disease services with performance on specific quality measures. For the first year of the quality improvement program, or QIP, the CMS proposed two new measures related to anemia management and one related to hemodialysis adequacy.
If the rule is finalized, ESRD providers that do not meet set standards for those three measures could have their Medicare payments lowered by up to 2 percent starting January 2012, the CMS said.
The CMS also issued a
final rule establishing a prospective payment system for ESRD services, which, in response to public comments, includes a payment adjustment for home dialysis training when clinically appropriate, the CMS said.
“The new payment system and quality incentive program for dialysis services have significant potential to improve patient outcomes and promote patient efficient delivery of healthcare services,” Donald Berwick, CMS administrator, said in a news release.
