Policy and Politics News

Patients with a kidney transplant who lose immunosuppressive drug coverage through Medicare before and after the scheduled 3 year end to eligibility show a much higher rate of graft failure than those who have continued coverage, a new study shows.

Advocacy group Kidney Care Partners has released a new plan outlining its vision for the future of kidney care in the United States.

Two U.S. senators recently introduced legislation to improve access to care for patients with chronic kidney disease.

The California Assembly voted 46-15 to pass A.B. 290, a measure that would limit dialysis provider and rehabilitation center profits operating in the state when insurance premiums are covered by third-party payers.

CMS issued a final rule on May 16 that will continue to allow, at least for now, transplant physicians to prescribe most anti-rejection transplant drugs through the Medicare Part D drug formulary.

Two legislators have introduced a bill in the Congress that would offer an add-on payment to the Medicare composite rate for dialysis treatments when providers use new medical devices.

BOSTON — Kidney transplant recipients from underserved communities have limited access to healthy foods and high levels of stress and anxiety, which contribute to a likelihood of weight gain post-transplant, according to results of a poster presented at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.

A new HHS report estimates that Medicare would save $73 million during the course of 10 years if Congress extends coverage of immunosuppressive drugs beyond the current 3 years post-transplant.

BOSTON — Disparities in which women are more likely to develop pregnancy-related AKI, often thought of in terms of genetics and race, may instead be primarily due to socioeconomic factors that result in unequal access to health care, according to a poster presented at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved legislation to fund the HHS through fiscal year 2020. According to Troy Zimmerman, vice president of government relations for the National Kidney Foundation, the legislation includes “key provisions to improve the lives of chronic kidney disease patients, living donors, and their loved ones.”