The Oregon Medical Insurance Pool (OMIP) decided that, when its dialysis costs rose from $7 million to $20 million, in a mere three years, it was time to have a word with the two biggest dialysis companies and the American Kidney Fund. After all this represents inflation of around 100% per year! Not quite what the rest of the world is seeing as an inflation rate.
According to an article in Oregon Live, OMIP board members cited figures showing dialysis companies charge OMIP dialysis patients as much as 15 times what they charge Medicare. Dialysis companies said that's because they lose money on Medicare rates, which are set by federal law. But the high rates also means the program's patients can hit their $2 million OMIP coverage limit in a few years, leaving them without health insurance.
Naturally OMIP are concerned about this state of affairs, and are trying to persuade the big two, Fresenius and DaVita, to lower their rates to something comparable with the rates paid by Medicare.
