NEWS ARTICLES

Federal officials have unveiled a new treatment model for patients living with kidney disease that could boost interest in telehealth and remote patient monitoring programs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) Model aims to shift from the traditional Medicare fee-for-service format to one that incentivizes providers to…

In pursuing the goal of better, more proactive care, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changing Medicare payments for dialysis to encourage more at-home dialysis services. The initiative confirms that CMS will be steadfast in its efforts to identify high-cost diseases and sites of care, and to direct that care into…

HHS on Monday offered a progress report on its yearlong initiative, Advancing American Kidney Health, which sought to reduce the risk of kidney failure, increase access to home-based dialysis, and boost availability of kidney transplants. Click here to read the full article on the American Journal of Managed Care website.

For years, our nation’s policymakers and elected officials have focused tremendous efforts toward transforming health care into a value-based system, one that tackles health disparities through coordinated care services. In fact, CMS Administrator Seema Verma recently found Medicare’s fee-for-service system “insufficient” and called for increased urgency to create a system that focuses on the total person and…

Patient choice has always been the cornerstone of my beliefs. In 2016, Congress decided that people who are eligible for Medicare due to a diagnosis of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) would become eligible to enroll in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans beginning January 1, 2021. MA is an option under Medicare to receive coverage through a private…

Americans living with chronic diseases often face discriminatory practices by health plans, making it difficult to access care. This is particularly true for those living with kidney failure, or end-stage renal disease. The kidney community celebrated passage of the 2016 21st Century Cures Act, which allowed for both newly diagnosed and existing ESRD patients to…

Since COVID-19 reached the U.S., normal day-to-day life has come to an unprecedented, screeching halt. While work, school and commerce have slowed, what we have learned—and continue to learn—about COVID-19 is moving at what seems like light speed. Several short months ago, few people were wearing masks in public because we assumed only those individuals…

In the months since the novel coronavirus first began infecting individuals in the United States, Americans – health care professionals, researchers, and the public alike – have received a rapid and ever-changing education in the medical science on this devasting virus. What we initially understood as primarily a respiratory illness has proven itself to be…

When COVID-19 began spreading rapidly across the United States, government officials responded with stay-at-home orders, business closures, cancellations of elective procedures, and many other unprecedented measures to slow the spread of the virus. Yet, as Americans did their part to social distance and protect their neighbors and loved ones, kidney patients, and particularly those on dialysis, faced…

In times of crisis, Americans always find a way to answer the call. The COVID-19 emergency, although unique to history, is no different. We are taking necessary precautions, maintaining social distance and helping our neighbors. We are following the science, observing guidelines and working together to flatten the curve — with the hope of saving…