WASHINGTON – Kidney Care Partners (KCP)- the nation’s largest non-profit, non-partisan kidney care coalition dedicated to protecting care access and comprised of more than 30 organizations, including patients, dialysis professionals, physicians, nurses, researchers, therapeutic innovators, transplant coordinators, and manufacturers – today applauded Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), for introducing the bipartisan Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act. A companion bill (H.R. 6860) was introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA), John Joyce, MD (R-PA), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Yvette Clark (D-NY), Danny Davis (D-IL), and Raul Ruiz, MD (D-CA) last December.

“Patients deserve to have a choice in their health coverage to ensure they can access the care they need,” said Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, Chair of Kidney Care Partners. “We’re grateful to Senate leaders stepping up and supporting this effort to restore long-standing protections to patient choice and look forward to continued collaboration with policymakers and those impacted by current policy to advance this bill.”

In the 2022 case, Marietta v. DaVita, the U.S. Supreme Court removed previous Congressional protections that barred insurance plans from discriminating against individuals with kidney failure who rely on life-sustaining dialysis treatments. If passed, the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act would reverse the negative consequences of this decision by ensuring that patients can continue to access dialysis treatments through their private insurance during the statutory 30-month coordination period with Medicare. By restoring these critical protections, this legislation will also help to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for patients and financial strain on the Medicare trust fund.

“KCP is proud to support this effort to protect and expand care choices for individuals living with kidney disease and kidney failure, and we encourage all members of Congress to join us,” Krishnan concluded.