The US Renal Data System (USRDS) recently found that the cost of dialysis has risen over the years and now accounts for six percent of total Medicare expenditures. According to federal statistics, there were around 636,905 prevalent cases of end stage renal disease on December 31st, 2012. Of these, 402,514 people were receiving treatment through peritoneal dialysis or an established graft. At present, Medicare spends between $28 and $30 billion each and every year for treatment relating to chronic kidney disease.
Prior to October 1972, there was no formal legislation that extended coverage to ESRD patients through Medicare. In the 1960s, the use of dialysis for the treatment of kidney failure became apparent and the need for coverage through governmental offices was realized due to the prohibitively high cost of dialysis. In 1972, Congress addressed this issue through Social Security Amendments that included coverage for individuals who were under 65 years of age and were the spouse or dependent of an individual who had worked long enough to qualify for Social Security. The policies that were adopted limited payments to $138 per treatment of which the government covered 80% of the cost. In time, Congress adopted laws that changed the reimbursement rate. In 2012, the Quality Incentive Program (QIP) went into effect which was Medicare’s first pay-for-performance program that requires providers to meet specific quality metrics. …Click Here to Continue Reading