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Kidney dialysis centers provide services to individuals with chronic kidney failure by offering dialysis treatment or education on how to perform dialysis at home.

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) facility services include support from physicians, nurses, nutritionists, and social workers.  This interdisciplinary team works with each dialysis patient with the goal of living as normally as possible and maximizing their quality of life.

Two types of dialysis treatment may be performed:

  • Hemodialysis involves passing an individual’s blood through a machine with a special membrane to remove substances.  Hemodialysis may be scheduled for three or four times per week according to physician orders and degree of kidney disease;
  • Peritoneal dialysis involves filling the abdomen with a dialysate using the natural abdominal membranes to filter toxic substances from the body.  Peritoneal dialysis may be performed several times a day according to physician orders and degree of kidney disease.

ESRD facilities are not licensed by the state, but may be Medicare certified.
Medicare pays for services provided by ESRD facilities that voluntarily seek and are approved for certification by the Federal Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS contracts with the Department of Health to evaluate compliance with the federal ESRD regulations by periodically conducting surveys of these facilities.

ESRD Service Provider Application

After review and acceptance of the application materials and notification from CMS of the approval of the CMS-855A, the Department will conduct a survey before recommending the agency for Medicare certification.

Mail completed forms to:
Please note change of address
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Division of Home Health
2525 N. 7th Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110


Questions?
Email ra-dhhomehealth@pa.gov

Federal Medicare Regulations