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Legislative and Regulatory Updates

Conditions for Coverage for ESRD Facilities

On April 15, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the revised Conditions for Coverage for ESRD facilities. These are the regulations that dialysis facilities must meet to be Medicare certified to provide dialysis services to patients with End Stage Renal Disease. The Conditions for Coverage (CfC) will take effect on October 14, 2008. These CfC take the place of the former Conditions, which were released in 1976. It is important that you become familiar with the new CfC, which contain several very important changes.

We have provided links to several documents that may help you as you make changes to your facility operations and your facility policies and procedures. Network staff are here to assist you in this process. Please contact us with questions or concerns.

• Conditions for Coverage, effective 10/14/2008
• Interpretive Guidelines, issued 10/3/2008
• Powerpoint presentation from Network 11 Annual Meeting
• ESRD Conditions for Coverage – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) revised by CMS in September 2009
• Measures Assessment Tool (New! version 1.5)
• Complete set of laminates used by state surveyors
• Guide to Patient Care Technician Training and Certification
• Patient Care Technicians (PCTs) Certification Memorandum (April 2010)
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Patient Care Technicians (April 2010)
• ANNA/NKF Comprehensive Assessment Tool
• Flyer offering a Study Guide for Dialysis Technicians from NANT
• Guidance on obtaining waivers or extensions for certain Conditions from CMS
• CMS memorandum on implementing the Life Safety Code component
• FDA Drug Safety Communication regarding the prescription of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs)

CMS Survey and Certification Guidance to Laws and Regulations Governing Dialysis Facilities

CMS maintains a page providing basic information related to survey and certification of dialysis facilities for ESRD surveyors and dialysis providers. This page includes links to applicable laws and regulations, and provides resources to support and assess compliance with Federal regulations.

Changes in Medicare Reimbursement

On July 26, 2010, CMS release two important documents concerning payments to dialysis facilities:

• Final Rule, Prospective Payment System (923 page, 1.4 MB document)
• Proposed Rule, Quality Incentive Program (77 page, 130 KB document)