Medicare Advantage Plans Pay Higher Prices Than CMS for Dialysis Care

A new study published in Health Affairs urged government leaders to limit market consolidation among the largest dialysis providers as more and more seniors choose Medicare Advantage over fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. Analyzing 2016 and 2017 outpatient Medicare claims data, the study authors found that MA organizations paid inflated costs for dialysis services compared to what FFS Medicare would have paid, especially to large national dialysis organizations — where the majority of patients receive treatment. Notably, MA plans’ median cost for in-network hemodialysis (the most common form of the therapy) was $301, which was markedly higher than the $232 median cost for out-of-network treatments. Findings were similar for peritoneal dialysis, the less common form of dialysis.

0

0

0 Comments

0

0

• Radar on Medicare Advantage