CMS to Cut ESRD Bundled Reimbursement up to $880 Million

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will cut the reimbursement rate for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) bundled payments beginning in 2014.

The rebased rate is to reflect the reduced usage of ESRD drugs, specifically Epogen and two other anemia-treating drugs manufactured by Amgen, according to a Washington Post report.

For the past several years the bundled payment system for dialysis treatments has been relatively lucrative for healthcare providers, in part because Medicare’s reimbursement rate was based on the level of usage of anemia drugs of more than five years ago.