Policy and Politics News

At the Renal Physicians Association annual meeting, representatives from three companies shared their approach to the changing paradigm of kidney care and emphasized the shift to value-based models that center on the patient.

Amid news about improved Medicare reimbursement and immunosuppressive drug coverage for patients with a kidney transplant, the nephrology community still has some unfinished business in the regulatory environment for 2021, a speaker said.

Professional organizations had mixed responses to the delay of the Kidney Care Choices payment model but offered suggestions to limit the impact of the delay on patient care and to improve the model when it is implemented.

In September 2020, CMS published the final rule for ESRD Treatment Choices, a new demonstration designed to test incentives for increasing use of home dialysis and kidney transplantation for patients with end-stage kidney disease.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 1:7 people in the United States – about 15% of the adult population – have some form of chronic kidney disease.

Legislation that would make living organ donation easier has been introduced in both chambers of Congress with bipartisan sponsorship, according to a press release.

CMS has postponed the launch of the Kidney Care Choices payment model demonstration, set to begin in April.

Emphasizing that race is not a biological construct, but rather a social construct, a speaker contended that the “multifaceted nature” of disparities impacting outcomes for children with kidney disease must be explored.

Advocating for patients on dialysis across the United States, the American Society of Nephrology joined more than 40 kidney organizations in sending a letter to the Biden-Harris administration COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

The 5-year mortality rate for veterans who received care through Medicare after undergoing kidney transplantation was double that of those who received care through the Veterans Health Administration, study results showed.