Medicare program; end-stage renal disease (ESRD) payment exception requests and organ procurement costs--HCFA. Final rule

These final regulations specify the criteria HCFA uses to determine if a facility that furnished dialysis services to Medicare patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) qualifies for a higher payment under an exception to its prospectively determined payment rate and the procedures HCFA uses to evaluate ESRD payment exception requests. These regulations also revise the way HCFA computes acquisition costs for organs that are transplanted into Medicare beneficiaries.