CMS issued its final rule for the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System base rate for dialysis facilities to $281.71 beginning Jan. 1, 2026, according to an agency press release. The final rate increased $7.89 from the calendar year 2025 base rate of $273.82. The rate will apply to all ESRD facilities, with hospital-based facilities…

LaVarne A. Burton, president and chief executive officer of the American Kidney Fund, has begun her 2-year term as chair of Kidney Care Partners (KCP), a coalition of patient advocates, physician organizations, health professional groups, dialysis providers, researchers, and manufacturers. Click here to read the full article.

— Kidney Care Partners has named American Kidney Fund president and CEO LaVarne Burton as its new chair. Click here to read the full article.

Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) along with Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) introduced the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (KCAPA). This bipartisan bill will strengthen Medicare’s kidney care benefits by ensuring sustainable reimbursement for dialysis providers, expanding access to patient education resources, and supporting a long-term payment pathway for new therapies and emerging technologies. Click here to read…

Medicare policies for end-stage renal disease have had a chilling effect on innovation in patient care. It’s 2025, and it’s time to confront a hard truth: Medicare’s kidney disease care benefit isn’t perfect, and in many ways, it’s failing the individuals it was intended to protect – those living with kidney failure, or end-stage renal…

With only the physician fee schedule posted on the Federal Register Friday evening (Oct. 31), the Trump administration seems poised to miss its deadline to finalize three Medicare pay rules by Nov. 1, the date necessary to comply with the 60-day notice so the rules can go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. CMS will now have…

Imagine being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness—only to learn that your doctor is limited to using treatments and tools from the 2000s instead of more advanced therapies. That’s exactly what’s happening to patients with kidney disease today. While treatments in other advanced disease states, such as cancer and heart disease, are improving at an exponential…

Federal rulemaking is continuing despite the on-going government shutdown, which has now led to new reductions in force, with the White House Office of Management and Budget receiving several health care rules since Oct. 1, including the Medicare pay rules for outpatient care and end-stage renal disease treatment and a rule on drug pricing. Click here…

A bipartisan bill would modernize Medicare’s kidney care payment system, creating sustainable pathways for innovative drugs, devices, and technologies while addressing inflation pressures on dialysis providers. Kidney Care Partners, AKF, DPC, and RSN endorsed the legislation, calling it a critical step to expand access and incentivize innovation (KCP). Click here to read the full article.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the bipartisan Kidney Care Access Protection Act that would strengthen Medicare’s kidney care benefits by ensuring fair reimbursement for quality care and improving patient access to innovative treatments, devices, and technologies:  Click here to read the full press release.