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ESRD General Information

Guidance for the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease Program is a national health insurance program for people with ESRD. The program is designed to encourage self-care dialysis and kidney transplantation and clarify reimbursement procedures to achieve effective cost control.

Issued by: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Issue Date: February 11, 2020

Dialysis Facility Care Compare

What is DFCC?

The Dialysis Facility Care Compare (DFCC) on Medicare.gov Care Compare website is hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and has information about dialysis clinics and the care they provide. 

A key feature of the DFCC on Medicare.gov is the Quality of Patient Care Star Rating, which provides a simple summary of the quality of care a dialysis clinic provides. CMS developed the Quality of Patient Care Star Rating in response to a national call for greater transparency in how to measure the quality of care for patients with kidney disease and consumers’ desire to use health care quality data to make informed decisions. The Quality of Patient Care Star Rating was implemented in 2015.  

The DFCC on Medicare.gov also includes Star Ratings from patient experience surveys collected through the In-Center Hemodialysis (ICH) Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey. Results from the survey are displayed as 1 to 5 stars based on how patients rated their facility.

Now available! Our new Provider Data Catalog makes it easier for you to search & download our publicly reported data. We’ve also improved Medicare’s compare sites.

HHS is committed to making its websites and documents accessible to the widest possible audience, including individuals with disabilities. We are in the process of retroactively making some documents accessible. If you need assistance accessing an accessible version of this document, please reach out to the guidance@hhs.gov.

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this database lack the force and effect of law, except as authorized by law (including Medicare Advantage Rate Announcements and Advance Notices) or as specifically incorporated into a contract. The Department may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not posted on the guidance repository, except to establish historical facts.