Judge rules against CMS policy change regarding charitable aid for dialysis patients

A U.S. court has upheld a temporary block on a federal rule that could reduce the assistance dialysis patients receive to pay insurance premiums, reports Reuters.

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Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant blocked the rule for two weeks. Now, the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued a preliminary injunction on the rule that dialysis providers have said would harm thousands of the nation’s sickest patients, DaVita said in a statement released Wednesday. Dialysis providers Fresenius Medical Care, DaVita and U.S. Renal Care had filed a lawsuit to block the rule.

HHS announced the rule in December. Under the rule, dialysis providers would have to notify insurers of any charitable assistance their patients are receiving for their care, according to Reuters. But the providers said insurers would use that information to refuse coverage to their patients, the report states.

Moving forward, DaVita urged President Donald Trump’s administration and CMS to “not only eliminate this rule, but to take action to prevent insurance companies from discriminating against a vulnerable group of patients and ensure continued access to charitable premium assistance.”

 

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