Medicare Coverage for Dialysis Services

Medicare covers special services for beneficiaries who require dialysis. These special services include:

• Inpatient dialysis treatments
• Outpatient dialysis treatments
• Certain home support services
• Self-dialysis training
• Home dialysis equipment and supplies
• Certain drugs for home dialysis (heparin, the antidote for heparin when medically necessary, topical anesthetics, and Epogen® or Epoetin alfa)
• Certain clinical diagnostic laboratory services

In most cases Medicare does not cover ambulance service to a dialysis facility. Medicare covers ambulance services only if other forms of transportation would be harmful to your health.

You can obtain information about dialysis facilities on the Dialysis Facility Compare page on the Medicare website at
http://www.medicare.gov/Dialysis/Home.asp.

Select Dialysis to obtain more information about dialysis.

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Last Updated 11/02/2004