Here is the ESRD Education Day web page from ANNA.

ANNA posted a web page summarizing the activities of its first ESRD Education Day in 2003.

August 6, 2004 - On June 23, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana introduced legislation that would establish a "pay-for-performance" system for some parts of Medicare, including end-stage renal disease (ESRD) care.

The text of the 12-section legislation has finally appeared on the Thomas.gov web site. As a service to our viewers, RenalWEB has extracted the three sections of the legislation that pertain to ESRD/dialysis.

The bill is S.2562: bill summary and status from Thomas.gov.

July 24, 2004 - Kidney Care Partners (KCP), a coalition of 25 national organizations, praised the introduction of legislation (HR 4927) in the U.S. House of Representatives that would modernize Medicare's End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) program. A companion bill, S. 2614, was introduced July 7 in the Senate. Press release via U.S. Newswire.

July 13, 2004 - The text of the ESRD Modernization Act of 2004 that was introduced last week in the Senate is now available on-line. Text of bill S.2614 from Thomas.gov. The main provisions of the bill are:

I. MODERNIZING THE MEDICARE ESRD PAYMENT SYSTEM

• Establishment of annual update framework for the Medicare ESRD composite rate.

II. PATIENT EDUCATION, QUALITY, ACCESS AND SAFETY INITIATIVES

• Support of public and patient education initiatives regarding kidney disease.
  
• Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services.
  
• Blood flow monitoring demonstration projects.

III. FINANCING AND COVERAGE FOR ESRD PATIENTS

• Improving the home dialysis benefit.
  
• Institute of Medicine evaluation and report on home dialysis.

IV. SUSTAINABLE ECONOMICS

• Modification of physician surgical reimbursement for dialysis access procedures to align incentives for cost and quality.
  
• Demonstration project for outcomes-based ESRD reimbursement system.
  
• GAO study and report on impact of G-codes

July 7, 2004 - Basketball legend Alonzo Mourning visited a Capitol Hill reception on Wednesday evening, July 7, to support the introduction of new legislation aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of Americans who suffer from kidney failure and who rely on Medicare for life-saving dialysis treatments. The event was sponsored by Kidney Care Partners (KCP), a coalition of patient advocacy groups, providers, and suppliers committed to improving the lives of those suffering from kidney disease. Press release via U.S. Newswire.

The bill is S.2614: bill summary and status from Thomas.gov. (The text of the bill is not yet available.)

Here is the legislative agenda page from the Kidney Care Partners web site.

July 3, 2004 - Basketball legend Alonzo Mourning will be on Capitol Hill Wednesday, July 7, at an event to support new legislation aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of Americans who suffer from kidney failure and who rely on Medicare for life-saving dialysis treatments. The event is sponsored by Kidney Care Partners (KCP), a coalition of patient advocacy groups, providers, and suppliers committed to improving the lives of those suffering from kidney disease. KCP press release via U.S. Newswire.

Here is a listing of the members of Kidney Care Partners (web site). Of the two major renal patient organizations, only the Renal Support Network is involved in this group's efforts to improve the quality of care for dialysis patients.

June 25, 2004 - Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would establish a "pay-for-performance" system for some parts of Medicare, CongressDaily reports. Summary from Kaiser Network.

The bill is S.2562: bill summary and status from Thomas.gov. (The text of the bill is not yet available.)

Baucus' measure is "already taking heat" from some quarters because of the withholding provision. In a letter to Baucus, Jack Ebeler, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, said, "[W]e do not believe that a withhold provides the firm financial foundation for quality improvement that your legislation envisions."

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) praised the introduction of The Medicare Quality Improvement Act of 2004 by Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) that would create financial incentives for Medicare health plans to improve the quality of care they provide to beneficiaries. Current payment policies fail to reward high performance and can paradoxically reward poor quality care. Press release from the NCQA.

June 24, 2004 - Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT web site) is planning to introduce legislation this week that would establish a “pay-for-performance” system for some parts of Medicare, but the measure is already attracting criticism from health insurers.

Under the bill, the system would initially only apply to Medicare’s End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) providers and the newly created Medicare Advantage, formerly Medicare+Choice. Article from The Hill.

The Renal Leadership Council has turned to Alston & Bird for lobbying help. And Alston & Bird's team includes Thomas Scully, the former Medicare czar; Colin Roskey, former health policy adviser to the Senate Finance Committee; and Marc J. Scheineson, former associate commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. News item from The Washington Post (registration required, viewing free).

June 15, 2004 - The 675-lawyer Washington law firm Alston & Bird (web site) continues to add healthcare-related clients since signing former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Tom Scully. The firm’s client list includes Fresenius Medical Care. News item from The Hill.

Several bills relating to dialysis have been introduced in this Congress. Summary from RenalWEB.

Legislators across the country are beginning to understand kidney disease like never before, thanks to a national campaign by the American Nephrology Nurses’ Association (ANNA) (web site).