Kidney Care Partners Requests CMS Support Treatment Innovation and Labor Cost Adjustment in Medicare ESRD PPS in CY 2023
Kidney Care Partners submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about protecting access to innovation in the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Program. As America shifts toward COVID-19 as an endemic disease to be managed, Kidney Care Partners suggests it is time to review the Medicare ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS), particularly in terms of creating a pathway for long-term adoption of innovative products and addressing the unprecedented workforce issues confronting the community. Kidney Care Partners requests that CMS, as part of the Calendar Year (CY) 2023 proposed rule, address and seek comment on policies to ensure that the ESRD PPS provides sufficient funding to support the long-term adoption of new, innovative drugs and biologicals that CMS determines to be within existing functional categories. Kidney Care Partners also asks that CMS provide options for the base rate to reflect changes in the labor costs that the current market basket and proxies do not adequately address.