Letter: Don’t cut Medicare funds for dialysis – Wausau Daily Herald
Wednesday, October 2, 2013 | By Scott | No Comments
This is and excerpt from a letter written by an assistant facility administrator operated by DaVita in Wausau, WI.
…Medicare plays a central role in the kidney care community, and even more cuts could be devastating. Under the newly proposed rule, Medicare reimbursements would decrease from $246.57 per three- to four-hour dialysis session to only $216 for the same treatment.
A $30 reduction may not seem like much, but these proposed cuts would decrease reimbursements well below the cost of care. Considering that those on dialysis require multiple treatments per week, $30 less per session is a substantial cut that could force facilities to consolidate services, reduce staff, trim operating hours, or in some cases close.
…Medicare’s End Stage Renal Disease program has served as a model for excellent care and we hope readers will contact Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson to ask for their support as well.
ON THE OTHER HAND
DaVita profits were $478,000,000 in 2012, up 17.8% over 2011.
Additionally, DaVita HealthCare has had to fork over more than $350 million over the past year to settle various fraud cases. Nevertheless, CEO Kent Thiry made the top 25 highest-paid list in 2012 with more than $26 million in total compensation.
Our government continues to pay a company who is guilty of fraud with our tax dollars.
Is anyone else out there scratching their heads?
Categories: DaVita, Medicare | Tags: DaVita, Medicare Cuts, Medicare fraud, Patient Advocate
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