NxStage Urges CMS to Fix Training Reimbursement to Provide Medicare Patients Greater Access to Life-Changing Home Hemodialysis Therapies

LAWRENCE, Mass., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NxStage® Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM), a leading manufacturer of innovative dialysis products, today announced that it submitted public comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding its Proposed Rule for the Changes to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System for 2014. NxStage's comments urge for CMS to correct the current insufficient and inequitable payments for home hemodialysis (HHD) training—making this life-changing modality more accessible to Medicare patients suffering from ESRD.

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The Company calls for these changes based upon:

• Clinical data supporting superior patient outcomes with HHD, including more frequent HHD, vs. conventional in-center dialysis;
• Third-party surveys showing that nephrologists and other healthcare professionals would choose HHD most often for themselves if faced with ESRD, contrasting sharply with the small percentage of beneficiaries with access to HHD today;
• A Congressional mandate for CMS to develop policy that encourages more patients to be rehabilitated and treated in the home setting; and,
• Reliable analysis of CMS cost data showing that actual costs incurred per HHD training session ($251-261) are substantially in excess of the current add-on payment ($33.44 per session) for the required training services.

"Today's add-on payment of $33.44 per training session (intended to represent 1 hour of nursing time) is simply too low and does not adequately represent the time and effort required to ensure safe, quality care at home," said Joe Turk, President, NxStage Medical, Inc. "Given the clear and compelling benefits of home hemodialysis and the decades-old Congressional intent to encourage home dialysis and rehabilitation, it is essential that CMS update its policies for training payment to ensure beneficiary access to this modality.  It is a disservice to patients to allow this situation to remain unresolved."

A copy of the Company's submission can be found at http://www.nxstage.com/ourcompany/blog/comments-are-in

About the NxStage System One

The NxStage System One is the first and only truly portable hemodialysis system cleared for home use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Its simplicity and revolutionary size (just over a foot tall) are intended to allow convenient use in patients' homes and give patients the freedom to travel with their therapy. When combined with the NxStage Pureflow SL Dialysis Preparation System, patients are able to further simplify, using ordinary tap water to create dialysis fluid on demand. Unlike conventional hemodialysis systems, the System One requires no special infrastructure to operate. Under the guidance of their physician, patients can use the NxStage System One, with their trained partners, where, how and when it best meets their needs, at home or on vacation. http://www.nxstage.com/.

About NxStage Medical

NxStage Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: NXTM) is a medical device company, headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA, that develops, manufactures and markets innovative products for the treatment of ESRD and acute kidney failure. For more information on NxStage and its products, please visit the Company's website at www.nxstage.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this release that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including those that are discussed in NxStage's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. NxStage is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Kristen K. Sheppard, Esq.
VP, Investor Relations
ksheppard@nxstage.com

SOURCE NxStage Medical, Inc.