Kidney community urges Biden administration to prioritize kidney health policies
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More than 20 kidney care organizations have collaborated on a letter which urges the Biden administration to advance policies for patients with kidney disease, placing special focus on health equity and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The letter, addressed to both President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris, was signed by the American Kidney Fund, the American Nephrology Nurses Association, the American Society of Nephrology and the Renal Physicians Association, among others.
“Our organizations are dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by this costly and under-recognized public health epidemic — an epidemic marked by its disproportionate effect on communities of color and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the letter. “ ... People on dialysis who suffer from COVID-19 are hospitalized more frequently than any other group of Medicare beneficiaries, and in many previously healthy patients, the novel SARS-COV2 virus causes acute and sometimes lasting kidney impairment. The COVID-19 pandemic has made many of our organizations’ goals on behalf of people with kidney diseases all the more urgent to achieve and sustain.”
Specific policy recommendations include the following:
- emphasize patient-centered care and increase patient involvement;
- develop earlier screening methodologies to prevent kidney disease or progression to kidney failure;
- focus on development of innovative diagnostics, therapeutics and devices;
- expand transplantation access through reforms, including reducing organ discard;
- fund kidney disease research; and
- ensure patients with kidney disease and their families are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines.
“Our organizations thank you for your focus on both COVID-19 and health equity, two paramount issues affecting Americans with kidney diseases and the health professionals who treat them,” the letter concluded. “We offer our collective and individual expertise in service of tackling these challenges and improving the kidney health of all Americans in partnership with you and your administration.”
Click here to read the letter in full.
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