CMS on Friday (Nov. 1) finalized a plan to add oral-only drugs to its End-Stage Renal Disease bundled payment system despite stakeholders’ efforts to delay the policy, including legislation passed by the House Energy & Commerce Committee that would have excluded the drugs from the ESRD bundling for another two years. Click here to see the full…

Dialysis treatments, while essential, are also often a tiring process for patients with end-stage renal disease or kidney failure. As a nephrologist, it is my job to ensure that the 12-15 hours patients spend in the dialysis chair each week are as easy as possible. A Supreme Court decision, however, could make it much harder…

In the movie Steel Magnolias, actor Julia Roberts plays Shelby, a young patient with diabetic kidney disease torn between her desire to be a mother and the reality of pregnancy pushing her into a life on dialysis. Since the introduction of dialysis in the 1960s and the extension of universal disease-specific coverage of end-stage kidney disease under…

“Ultimately, this journey shaped my belief that to drive real change in care delivery, you need to work on the system level, influencing policy, clinical protocols, and innovation.” Can you tell us about your career journey and how it has shaped your approach to care delivery in nephrology? MK: For me, kidney care is quite personal….

Scientia potentia est. sounds complicated, but when translated, “knowledge is power” rings true for many aspects of life, particularly when it comes to managing one’s health. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the gradual loss of kidney function with few, if any, symptoms. Many of the 1 in 3 adults who are at risk for CKD have no idea…

A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would require private health plans to continue to pay for dialysis for beneficiaries with end-stage kidney disease while they coordinate a transition to Medicare coverage. Click here to see the full article.

Kidney disease is rapidly becoming a worldwide public health epidemic. Today, nearly 37 million Americans have chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet only about one percent of those Americans are even aware of their disease. We are seeing good advances in the slowing of CKD progression with pharmaceuticals, and there are exciting developments in transplant, such as xenotransplantation, but the dialysis…

Kidney disease is rapidly becoming a worldwide public health epidemic. Today, nearly 37 million Americans have chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet only about one percent of those Americans are even aware of their disease. We are seeing good advances in the slowing of CKD progression with pharmaceuticals, and there are exciting developments in transplant, such as xenotransplantation, but…

As someone who has personally navigated the challenges of kidney disease for most of my life – including kidney failure, dialysis, and multiple transplants – I understand firsthand the importance of access to quality healthcare. Click here to read the full article.

End-stage renal disease services would be reimbursed at $2.18 more under the proposed ESRD pay rule CMS unveiled Thursday (June 27) — an increase kidney care advocates say won’t keep up with growing costs. “The market basket increase just does not reflect the reality of the increase in costs that facilities have experienced,” a Kidney Care Partner…