Medicare reverses course and opts not to revamp dialysis payments

Nov 26 2013

Federal officials announce that they will reduce what the program's payment by less than 1 percent over the next two years.

The Wall Street Journal: Medicare To Cut Dialysis Payments Much Less Than Expected
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would reduce payments to kidney dialysis providers by less than 1% over the next two years in a reversal of the much-larger cuts it had proposed this summer (Walker, 11/22).

Reuters: U.S. Medicare Program Leaves 2014 Dialysis Payments Unchanged
Medicare, the U.S. government healthcare program for elderly and disabled people, will leave its overall reimbursement rates for kidney dialysis treatment unchanged for next year, and said it will take three to four years to implement a mandated adjustment to its base rates (Beasley, 11/22).

Meanwhile, in another health issue often confronting seniors --

The Wall Street Journal: New Strategies For Long-Term Care
As long-term-care insurance becomes more expensive and harder to get, what are families who want it left to do? Fewer carriers are offering the coverage, which helps pay for future nursing-home, assisted-living and home care. Those that still do are raising premiums on new and longtime policyholders (Greene, 11/22).