US House members introduce bipartisan bill focused on kidney disease
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On June 22, Reps. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced a bill that targets key areas of reform in policies related to kidney disease.
The bipartisan legislation, known as the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act, was introduced in the Senate earlier this month.
“Tens of millions of Americans are impacted by kidney disease,” Rep. Sewell said in a press release. “For too many Alabamians, its negative health effects are accompanied by financial challenges and barriers to receiving care. Increasing access to quality, affordable health care continues to be one of my top priorities in Congress, and I’m so proud to introduce the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act. This legislation will make critical improvements to the way patients with kidney disease, especially those in underserved communities, access and receive care.”
According to the release, proposed areas of reform address patient awareness and education, treatment innovation, dialysis facility performance and health coverage. More specifically, the bill contains the following changes:
- adds kidney disease screening to the Medicaid Annual Wellness Benefit;
- allows dialysis facilities to provide kidney disease education services, while also permitting physician assistants, nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists to serve as referral sources for the Medicare Kidney Disease Education Benefit (shift from physicians-only as referral sources);
- requires HHS to adjust the ESRD Prospective Payment System bundled rate, when necessary, to incentivize the use of new drugs, biologics, devices, etc.;
- reforms how CMS adopts measures used in the ESRD Quality Incentive Program “to ensure there are a set of meaningful, valid, and reliable measures”;
- grants ESRD Medicare beneficiaries of any age access to Medigap policies;
- allows patients to retain private insurance as their primary payer for an additional 12 months; and
- requires HHS to reinstate dialysis services as an area subject to the Network Adequacy requirements (thereby protecting patient access to Medicare Advantage plans, according to the release).
Rep. Buchanan also commented on how the legislation would improve kidney care across the country.
“This important legislation incentivizes innovative new treatments for kidney disease, expands access to dialysis and transplants in underserved communities and ultimately improves the quality of life for those living with these chronic conditions,” he said in the release.
Kidney Care Partners (KCP) released a statement in support of the legislation, with the organization’s chair, John P. Butler, calling it a “bold step in the right direction to expand choice and access to quality kidney care and improve the lives of individuals living with this disease.”
Further, Butler said: “As the voice of the kidney care community, KCP is a strong advocate for improvements in treatment and care options for people living with kidney disease, and this important legislation aims to do just that for those individuals. KCP stands behind this effort and encourages all members of Congress to do the same by supporting this bill.”
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