How does Medicare pay for the HHD machine, supplies, and support services under Method I?
Under Method I, your dialysis clinic provides those things you need to do your dialysis. Your supplies will be delivered to your home storage area. Your clinic bills Medicare for each day you do dialysis, so they will ask you to keep and return copies of your treatment records to back up the clinic’s charges. Medicare pays for 3 hemodialysis treatments a week. If you need more treatments, your doctor must justify them or Medicare will not pay for them. Medicare pays for dialysis using a composite rate payment, which covers all dialysis related supplies and certain laboratory tests. The amount is based on whether your clinic is owned by a hospital or is free-standing, and on where your clinic is located. The composite rate is intended to cover supplies and labor costs. Medicare pays as much for home hemodialysis as for in-center dialysis. If you have an employer group health plan, the clinic will probably charge your employer group health plan more than it charges Medicare, no matter wh
