Dialysis Costs Private Medicare Plans 14% More, Panel Finds

Private health plans providing Medicare benefits pay 14% more for dialysis treatments on average than traditional Medicare rates, a congressional advisory panel reported Tuesday.

But the increased enrollment of new kidney failure patients beginning next year could give these Medicare Advantage plans more leverage to negotiate lower rates, said Andy Johnson, a principal policy analyst at the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

“We will continue to monitor Medicare Advantage dialysis prices” to see if wide price variations for treatments “lead to diminished access to MA plans for beneficiaries,” Johnson said during Tuesday’s web-based monthly commission meeting.

Most of Medicare’s 500,000-plus beneficiaries ...