WASHINGTON – Kidney Care Partners – the nation’s leading kidney care multi-stakeholder coalition representing patient advocates, physician organizations, health professional groups, dialysis providers, researchers, and manufacturers – convened today on Capitol Hill to demonstrate support for policies that would ensure improved access to care, continued kidney innovation, and protection of coverage choices for those living with kidney disease.

“As the voice for the nation’s kidney community, we are proud to support policies that strengthen care delivery, ensure patient choice, and spur much-needed innovation,” said Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, Chair of Kidney Care Partners. “We look forward to working with lawmakers to create a sustainable, forward-looking kidney care system that benefits the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease.”

Currently, outdated and overly restrictive payment policies are limiting patients’ access to 21st-century treatments and threaten to jeopardize Americans’ access to innovation compared to other countries. These programs create immediate barriers to patient care while also discouraging investment in the next generation of kidney therapies. Meanwhile, payment to dialysis providers fails to accurately reflect increases in the cost of labor, supplies, and equipment needed to provide care. During meetings with lawmakers, KCP members highlighted the urgent need to resolve these immediate issues, while also discussing how comprehensive reform can modernize kidney care.

KCP advocates also voiced support for the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (H.R. 2199 / S. 1173), which would reinstate vital safeguards for individuals living with kidney failure seeking to maintain their private health insurance coverage prior to transitioning to Medicare after the coordination period.

Additional information about KCP’s fly-in and legislative priorities is available here.

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