In what is likely to be a relief to dialysis providers, the CMS decided to phase in the controversial payment cut to dialysis providers over a three- to four-year period.
Moreover, overall payments for 2014 will remain the same, according to the final rule issued Friday.
A tax bill passed in January calls for the rebasing of dialysis rates to better reflect decreased utilization of expensive anemia drugs that have been linked to safety concerns. But the industry has lobbied heavily against the cut, arguing that the drugs themselves have become more expensive and more drugs are being added to the bundled payment.
The final rule also authorized a 50% increase in the home dialysis training add-on payment and strengthened the Quality Incentive Program, which penalizes providers who don't meet certain performance standards.
A report last month from Moody's Investors Service said having the 11.9% cut phased in over three years is the best-case scenario for the industry because it will be countered by growth in the dialysis sector and marketbasket adjustments.
Shares of Denver-based DaVita HealthCare Partners, one of the top two U.S. dialysis providers, were up 12% in after-market trading within the hour after the CMS posted the rule. Competitor Fresenius Medical Care, based in Germany, was up 3%.
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