WASHINGTON – Kidney Care Partners (KCP) – the nation’s largest non-profit, non-partisan kidney care coalition dedicated to protecting access and representing patients, dialysis professionals, physicians, nurses, researchers, therapeutic innovators, transplant coordinators, and manufacturers – today thanked Representatives Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Neal Dunn, M.D. (R-FL), Danny Davis (D-IL), John Joyce (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) for introducing the bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (H.R. 2199).

This legislation will protect coverage choices for Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as originally intended in the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA). In 2022, the Supreme Court decision in Marietta v. DaVita upended precedent that prevented health plans from pushing patients with ESRD—or kidney failure—off private insurance plans and onto Medicare plans prematurely.

“MSPA effectively protected patients with the option to stay on their private insurance plan as they navigated their life-altering diagnosis of kidney failure, but we’ve unfortunately seen that protection upended,” said Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, Chair of Kidney Care Partners. “Now, we encourage all lawmakers to work together to restore critical protections for patients with kidney failure by passing the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act without delay.”

The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act seeks to close this gap by ensuring that individuals living with kidney disease receive the same protections as those with other chronic conditions under MSPA. The bill ensures dialysis patients can continue receiving the life-sustaining care they need without disruption by maintaining access to private insurance coverage for the full 30-month coordination period before transitioning to Medicare as their primary payer. 

“I thank members of Congress for introducing the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, which will ensure insurance plans provide life-sustaining care to dialysis patients,” said LaVarne Burton, President & CEO of the American Kidney Fund (AKF). “This critical legislation will ensure that the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA) is working for the benefit of those it was intended to protect.”

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