http://www.nephrologynews.com/rss/renal-policy The latest articles from Nephrology News & Issues in the topic renal-policy By an announcement on May 10, 2012, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized proposed regulations that had been announced on Oct. 18, 2011 that relaxed the federal Life Safety Code (LSC) requirements in the revised Conditions for Coverage (CfCs) that first became effective on Feb. 9, 2009. With one major exception, the final LSC requirements are identical to those proposed in October, 2011 as part of attempts to "modify, streamline, or repeal" regulations which were duplicative or http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/cms-finalizes-proposed-life-safety-code-requirements-for-dialysis-clinics 5/14/2012 4:37:00 PM A centralized surveillance system has been established to combat the public health epidemic of chronic kidney disease open access to information, according to updates presented at the National Kidney Foundation"s. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded two teams of researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of California, San Francisco, to jointly develop and implement a CKD surveillance system designed to assess the impact of CKD on the state, re http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/national-online-surveillance-system-for-chronic-kidney-disease-to-debut-this-summer 5/10/2012 6:00:00 PM Thirty leaders from the American Society of Nephrology visited more than 50 Congressional offices on the second annual ASN Hill Day on April 27. They urged U.S. Senators and Representatives to support pending legislation and policies that they say will improve the lives of the 26 million Americans with kidne http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/american-society-of-nephrology-holds-2nd-annual-hill-day 5/1/2012 2:31:00 PM From July to October 2011, dialysis facilities in a sampling monitored by the Dialysis Outcomes Practice Patterns Study group continued a pattern of dropping ESA dosing and hemoglobin levels before leveling off for the remainder of the year, according to data, released today, from the DOPPS Practice Monitor (DPM; http://www.dopps.org/DPM), http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/dopps-latest-data-shows-continuing-change-in-hgb-levels-esa-dosing 5/1/2012 12:36:00 AM The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will bring two teams of experts together on May 1-2 to develop new quality measures on hospitalizations and anemia management http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/hospital-readmissions-anemia-management-focus-of-new-expert-panels 4/30/2012 10:50:00 AM The National Renal Administrators Association has launched its Health Information Exchange (HIE) to help independent, regional, and community-based dialysis providers electronically submit data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CROWNWeb reporting system to satisfy the Conditions for Coverage for ESRD. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/national-renal-administrators-association-announces-launch-of-health-information-exchange-for-crownweb 4/25/2012 1:45:00 PM The Dialysis Outcomes Practice Patterns Study group has expanded its data collection and analysis to dialysis clinics in six Gulf Cooperation Council countries after the successful launch of a pilot study in Saudi Arabia. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/the-dialysis-outcomes-practice-patterns-study-expands-into-middle-east 4/24/2012 5:40:00 PM Information on a mandatory Medicare form meant to help officials assess the quality of care provided to older kidney disease patients is poorly representative of the actual care billed by physicians, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The findings indicate that better accuracy and consistency are needed when clinicians complete this form. Otherwise, the widely used form will have limited value for public health surveillance a http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/medicare-forms-for-older-ckd-patients-dont-match-care-billed-by-physicians 4/20/2012 11:30:00 AM Physicians who believe they were incorrectly denied a Medicare bonus for using an electronic health record system last year have until April 30 to appeal their case, Medscape Medical News reports. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/deadline-extended-for-appealing-medicare-ehr-bonus 4/17/2012 10:40:00 AM The board for the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool (OMIP), a state-funded last-resort insurance program for Oregon residents, has approved in concept deals with the largest dialysis companies that would set rates at a fraction of what they are now, The Oregonian reports. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/oregons-state-insurance-program-makes-deal-with-dialysis-providers 4/10/2012 11:22:00 AM On March 22, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced an extension of the Phase III pilot through April 20. CMS said it will extend the pilot for an additional four weeks to provide time for dialysis facilities to complete QIMS registration in preparation for the upcoming CROWNWeb national release. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/crownweb-phase-iii-extended-through-april-20 3/23/2012 9:29:00 AM Computers used to access CROWNWeb must meet a minimum set of requirements in order to use the application. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/project-crownweb-posts-system-requirements 3/22/2012 10:53:00 AM Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced policies to assist states in building Affordable Insurance Exchanges. The rules include a provision that clarifies that under the new health care reform law"s health benefit exchange program, individuals who enroll in small group plans within the health exchanges and are diagnosed with kidney failure will be granted the same right to maintain private coverage for up to 30 months as people with group health coverage purchased o http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/hhs-includes-msp-for-kidney-patients-in-insurance-exchange-policies 3/13/2012 10:17:00 AM With the first year of meaningful use behind us, we"ve learned some important lessons about how to navigate the program, what to expect going forward, and what we might do differently. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/the-cms-incentive-programs-for-ehrs-in-2012-looking-forward-and-looking-back 3/12/2012 8:28:00 AM Senator Kent, D-N.D., has introduced legislation known as the "Kidney Disease Equitable Access, Prevention, and Research Act of 2012." http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/new-bill-aims-to-extend-msp 3/9/2012 9:53:00 AM Networks participating in the 5-Diamond Patient Safety Program announced that the program"s website has been revised. In 2008, ESRD Network of New England and the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition launched the program to help dialysis facilities increase awareness, promote and build a culture of patient safety. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/mid-atlantic-renal-coalition-expands-5-diamond-patient-safety-program 3/5/2012 11:44:00 AM The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced it is extending the Phase 3 pilot by a minimum of three weeks. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/cms-to-extend-crownweb-phase-3 3/1/2012 11:49:00 AM http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/crownweb 2/29/2012 3:41:00 PM eginning with CROWNWeb’s national release, all Medicare-certified dialysis providers will have the ability to electronically submit their annual CMS-2744 ESRD Facility Survey forms to their ESRD Network office for acceptance http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/from-paper-based-to-electronic-cms-2744-forms-data 2/29/2012 3:15:00 PM The National Renal Administrators Association is hosting two webinars on how to meet the 2012 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid End Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program requirements for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network. http://www.nephrologynews.com/renal-policy/article/nraa-to-host-cdc-nhsn-webinars 2/29/2012 2:33:00 PM