Doctors Warn: Medicare’s New Wound Care Policy Puts Patients in Danger
Summary: Kure Care’s Kenton Gray warns that CMS’s 2026 skin substitute payment caps ($127.28/cm²) threaten access to advanced wound care for 25M Americans with chronic ulcers, potentially delaying healing and raising amputations 20%. Testimonials from DFU patients show 6-week closures with grafts vs 8 months without; the policy ignores fraud fixes like AI audits, risking $100B+ in hospital costs. Gray calls for reversal, emphasizing biologics’ 50% efficacy in DFUs/VLUs.
Key Highlights:
- Policy: Caps reimbursement; $15B 2025 spend up 50%; ignores fraud via better oversight.
- Patient Stories: Margaret T’s DFU healed in 6 weeks with grafts; Robert M’s VLU in 4 months.
- Risks: Delayed care increases amputations 20%; $100B+ hospital costs.
- Solutions: AI billing, accreditation, registries; treat now before cuts.
- Quote: Gray: “Cuts won’t fix fraud— they’ll harm patients who need grafts.”
Keywords: Medicare cuts, skin substitutes, DFU access, amputation risk, wound policy