CMS releases final rule on payments for dialysis care
Kidney Care Partners, a non-profit coalition of more than 30 organizations representing patients, dialysis professionals, physicians, nurses, researchers, therapeutic innovators, transplant coordinators and manufacturers, appreciates that CMS updated the payment rate for dialysis providers in the 2023 PPS final rule. Unfortunately, the rate increase does not address the major barriers created by the labor crisis…
Dialysis Stakeholders Say CMS Pay Bump Not Enough, Turn To Congress
Kidney care experts are concerned CMS’ unprecedented increase in pay rates for renal dialysis services didn’t account for the most updated data, and with less than 60 days remaining until the rule kicks in, the bump still isn’t enough to account for ongoing workforce shortages that have hamstrung the sector. Click here to read the…
Contributor: Congress Must Fix Patient Protection Statute Upended by Supreme Court
Unless Congress acts, a misguided decision by the Supreme Court earlier this year could have devastating consequences for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and their families nationwide. As is all too often the case in health care policy, the impact would be disproportionately felt by patients and communities of color. Click here to read the full article on…
The Kidney Transplant Ecosystem Is Ripe for Reform
For many patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), the treatment that provides the longest and best quality of life is a kidney transplant. Recently, the U.S. transplant system achieved a record milestone, with over 40,000 organ transplants performed in 2021. Despite this achievement, there are still many more people waiting years…
Dialysis providers assess damage from Hurricane Ian
Dialysis providers deployed disaster response teams this past week along the coast of Florida to assess the damage from Hurricane Ian while watching its path into Georgia and the Carolinas. “Hurricane Ian impacted multiple U.S. Renal Care dialysis clinics along the west coast of Florida from Tampa to Naples, leaving many clinics without power, water,…
Chronic Kidney Patients Deserve Access to Safe Telehealth Care
Slowly but surely our nation is moving closer to living in a new normal, with COVID-19 case numbers dropping, cases less severe due to vaccinations and new therapies, and restrictions easing. Americans are getting back to normal, albeit a “new normal.” The COVID-19 public health emergency forced our health care system to modernize and adapt…
Is the HIF-PHI class of next-generation kidney drugs doomed in the U.S.?
Kidney disease patients need access to innovative therapies to expand treatment choices and improve quality of life. The FDA should closely examine whether it is applying the appropriate benefit/risk assessment for new drugs intended for this population. Click here to see the full article on the MedCity News website.
America’s kidney patients are desperate for new treatments
America has a kidney problem. The federal government has the power to help solve it. Today, 37 million Americans have chronic kidney disease (CKD)—that’s one out of every seven U.S. adults. The majority have CKD as a result of diabetes or hypertension, but CKD isn’t a mere side effect of those conditions; it is its…
The FDA Is Blocking Game-Changing New Drugs For Kidney Disease
Imagine you’ve been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, told by your physician that if it can’t be managed, you may eventually need a transplant or long-term dialysis. This scary situation is one faced by hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. Click here to see the full article on the Issues & Insights website.
Kidney groups call out US Supreme Court decision on DaVita, hospital employee health plan
Several kidney organizations have spoken out against the recent overruling of Marietta Memorial Hospital Employee Benefit Health Plan v. DaVita by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the lawsuit, DaVita claimed the hospital health plan discriminated against employees requiring dialysis. As Healio previously reported, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Marietta Memorial Hospital offered the same outpatient…