Advocacy Groups Push HHS to Block Dialysis Patient Steering

In a letter to HHS Secretary Azar last week, a coalition of patient advocacy groups, insurers, and unions urged HHS to "take immediate action to address recent disclosures confirming inappropriate steering of individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who are eligible for Medicare or Medicaid into commercial coverage." They state in the letter that some dialysis clinics are going so far as to pay premiums for customers in order to recoup more lucrative reimbursement rates in private coverage and gaming the system. To read the full letter and see all the organizations signed on, click here.