July 31, 2023
Tea Leaves | Transition to Value
  • Efforts to move dialysis care into the home are gaining traction three years after then-President Donald Trump set a goal of having 80 percent of newly diagnosed kidney failure patients receive transplants or home dialysis by 2025. Last year, 26.6 percent of Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease were receiving dialysis, compared with 13.3 percent in 2020, according to CMS. Medicare pays the same bundled rate for home dialysis as it does for in-facility treatment. However, according to Prima Health Analytics, the average cost for a home dialysis treatment in 2021 was nearly $50 less than a facility treatment. Prima attributed the cost difference mostly to the cost of staff administering treatment at facilities. (Article here)