Policy and Politics News

The Trump administration’s selection of longtime AIDS researcher Robert R. Redfield, MD, to be the next CDC director drew mixed reactions from experts and officials, including some who question his conduct on a research project several decades ago.

At the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting, Paul T. Conway, president of the American Association of Kidney Patients, spoke about the efficacy of surveys for patients and how organizations can improve these to better collect data.

At the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting, Robert E. Blaser, director of public policy at RPA, spoke about the benefits that passing legislation could have on the kidney care community.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nephrologists need to take an active role in improving the response rate to surveys sent to patients asking them about the quality of care they receive, particularly because the results are being used by CMS as a factor to determine shared savings in pay-for-performance models like the Comprehensive ESRD Care Demonstration.

ORLANDO, Fla. — In advocacy, the end game is to be aware, prepared and take action when needed to protect and preserve the practice of nephrology, according to a presenter here the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting.

ORLANDO, Fla. — At the Renal Physicians Association Annual Meeting, Jeffrey Giullian, MD, MBA, spoke about the Renal Physicians Association’s Incident Dialysis Alternative Payment Model.

While commercial health care insurance companies try to figure out what to do with the new Amazon/Berkshire-Hathaway/JP Morgan partnership aimed at building a new employee health plan, we saw some national health care issues unfold toward the end of 2017 and the first month of the new year.

Kentucky legislators were excited about being the first to launch the new Medicaid waiver for work requirements, but some state residents on the health care plan had a different view.

As part of a renewed focus on the individual in the delivery of medical care, there is an increased interest in including patient-reported outcomes and symptoms as a routine component of the management of patients with chronic conditions.

The American Kidney Fund is extending its Health Insurance Premium Program coverage for patients on dialysis to a full insurance plan year if they receive a kidney transplant. The extension, which takes effect April 1, changes the AKF’s long-standing policy of limiting assistance for premiums post-transplant.