Policy and Politics News

SAN DIEGO — Nephrology nurses are optimistic Advancing American Kidney Health will improve kidney care. However, getting to the goals set by HHS will be challenging and could stress a nephrology nursing profession already facing a future workforce shortage.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation yesterday that will restrict the amount of money dialysis providers and drug rehabilitation centers can charge group health plans in the state. The approval of A.B. 290 caps nearly 2 years of debate, a past governor veto of a previous version of the bill, a failed ballot proposition and millions of dollars spent by dialysis providers to defeat the legislation.

SAN DIEGO — While the executive order signed by president Donald J. Trump last July to set new goals for increasing transplant rates has garnered most of the attention in the kidney community, CMS has been working behind the scenes on new interpretive guidelines for surveyors that will affect transplant center operations, including staff education and processes prior to the transplant, Gail DeWald, BS, RN, CNN, noted in a talk here.

For 2 years, the American Kidney Fund has engaged with a broad coalition of patient and disease groups, community organizations, minority advocates, veteran and taxpayer groups and medical associations in fighting legislation, like California’s A.B. 290, that harms low-income, mostly minority patients by threatening their access to health care.

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California — The state of health care legislation in Washington and ongoing concerns about the inadequacies of the ESRD Treatment Choices payment model for dialysis care, set to launch in January, were part of a package of discussion points during a session on policy issues and political agendas held during the National Renal Administrators Association’s Annual Conference.

While prescription opioid use was associated with increased mortality and hospitalization risks for all patients regardless of kidney function, researchers found the risk for death was highest among those with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease.

The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that would improve education options and promote access to treatment for kidney disease.

After nearly 2 years of debate, a governor veto, a failed ballot proposition and millions of dollars spent by dialysis providers and health care insurers, the stroke of a pen sometime in the next 2 weeks could hit the reset button on how dialysis is paid for in California.

Professional associations in nephrology, dialysis providers and patient groups joined recent criticism by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission in telling CMS Administrator Seema Verma to drop plans to implement the ESRD Treatment Choices model this January.

Despite the implementation of the Kidney Allocation System in 2014, black and Hispanic patients — as well as those receiving Medicare instead of holding private insurance —continue to have lower odds of preemptive kidney transplantation, according to a recently published study.