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?