WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Dialysis Vascular Access Coalition (DVAC) announced that it is supporting the bipartisan letter being circulated by U.S. Representatives Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.). The text of the letter is available here.

The letter, addressed to House and Senate leaders, asks for the clinical labor cuts to be reversed in the February omnibus appropriations legislative package.

Specifically, the letter urges Congress to act quickly  to stop the CMS-directed Medicare reimbursement cuts of 20% for vascular access services. DVAC is asking Congress to protect patients and providers by abandoning these cuts and implementing fundamental reforms to the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) to avoid wild and unpredictable reimbursement swings. 

DVAC has warned that failing to prevent these cuts will cause increased health care system consolidation, a widening of the health equity gap, force vascular access centers to close, and leave patients in the cold with fewer options.

Dr. Dean Preddie, DVAC’s Health Policy Chair, said, “These 20% cuts must not stand. DVAC is thankful that U.S. Representatives Rush and Bilirakis are leading the charge in a bipartisan way to protect dialysis patients and local vascular access centers. There is broad consensus that these CMS-initiated cuts need to be corrected and there needs to be a long-term fix.”

DVAC is asking its members to contact their members of Congress and encourage them to join the Rush-Bilirakis letter.