GAO Push for Lower Dialysis Bundle Spurs Controversy

Dialysis and kidney-care providers are taking issue with a Government Accountability Office report released this month that found the government may be over-paying for end-stage renal disease treatment.

The report called on the CMS to re-examine the amount it's paying (PDF) for dialysis care, arguing that the agency bases its bundled payment rates on 5-year-old drug utilization trends that are no longer current.

It added that if the payments accurately reflected current prescribing trends for end-stage renal disease, Medicare would have saved at least $650 million in 2011, up to as much as $880 million—and that those savings are only forecasted to grow.

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Source: ModernHealthcare.com