A research team from Insight Policy Research and Arbor Research Collaborative for Health conduct work under a five-year contract from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to monitor and evaluate the effects of Medicare dialysis payment policy.

The project involves monitoring near-term indicators of access and quality of care to identify what, if any, changes in dialysis services Medicare beneficiaries experience following recent changes to dialysis payment policy. In particular, researchers focus on the period following the implementation of the Medicare expanded bundled payment that went into effect January 1, 2011, and following implementation of the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) that went into effect January 1, 2012, as well as annual changes through federal rulemaking.

The team conducts in-depth statistical analysis to form data-driven conclusions about program impacts on Medicare beneficiary groups, facilities, and providers. In addition, this work evaluates the effects of the ESRD QIP generally and on specific groups of patients and providers, and determines the program’s effectiveness in achieving the desired outcomes of the legislative mandates and rulemaking. Evaluation results will include recommendations that will inform Medicare policy changes to improve the quality of dialysis care, control costs, and improve the health of patients with ESRD.