Fiscal Cliff Legislation Adjusts ESRD Payment Bundle To Help Offset Doc Fix

In legislation passed by both chambers of Congress Jan. 1, the cost of a one-year reprieve from sharp cuts to Medicare physician payments, scheduled to begin in 2013, would be offset by a reduction in Medicare’s bundled payment for end-stage renal disease. The reduced payment would take into account a drop in the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents observed over the last several years.