Policy and Politics News

The 2021 KidneyX Summit – held virtually again this year – serves as a celebration of innovation in kidney failure treatments, while also presenting attendees with an opportunity to recommit to health equity, according to a speaker.

Congress continues to support funding for developing smarter, more efficient and patient-friendly dialysis machines that simplify the treatment process, a speaker said at the virtual Innovations in Dialysis: Expediting Advances Symposium.

Holding patient insight as valuable, and thus expanding ways patients can participate in all stages of product development, is essential to ensuring equitable access to emerging dialysis technologies, an expert in patient advocacy said.

Compared with a group of matched controls, living kidney donors in South Korea had an increased risk for employment loss within 2 years following donation and, in the longer term, were more likely to experience worsening economic status.

CMS plans to rescind a Trump-era interim final rule that would have established a “most-favored nation” pricing model for Medicare Part B drugs, following months of lawsuits that saw the proposal stalled in federal court.

Texas legislators passed a bill with bipartisan support that mandates end-stage renal disease facilities develop contingency plans in the event that emergencies like natural disasters cause power outages that disrupt delivery of care.

A federal grand jury in Denver has charged DaVita Inc. and former CEO Kent Thiry with conspiring with competing employers not to solicit certain employees.

Kidney transplant activity decreased dramatically after the initial surge of COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the pandemic, according to a study. Researchers also found discard rates increased due to a lack of a recipient.

Under a rule proposed by CMS, dialysis clinics in the ESRD Treatment Choices demonstration will receive higher payments if the centers direct more socially and economically disadvantaged patients to transplant or home dialysis.

CMS released a proposed rule in the Federal Register on July 1 that would increase the payment rate for dialysis treatments next year and make exceptions in the performance scoring for the ESRD Quality Incentive Program due to COVID-19.