Washington, DC, March 15, 2024 –Kidney Care Partners (KCP) – the nation’s leading kidney care multi-stakeholder coalition representing patient advocates, physician organizations, health professional groups, dialysis providers, researchers and manufacturers – today recognizes World Kidney Day by highlighting its key objectives, including protecting patient coverage choice, securing appropriate payment for innovative products, ensuring adequate coverage under Medicare Advantage, and a delay of inclusion of oral-only drugs in the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) bundle.
“While treatment advancements and improving access to transplants gives us much to celebrate this World Kidney Day, we also recognize pressing challenges the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease face,” said Mahesh Krishnan, MD, MPH, MBA, Chairman of KCP. “KCP members are dedicated to advancing policies that protect patient choice, incentivize innovation in kidney care, and ensure adequate reimbursement to support patients across the kidney disease continuum.”
KCP advocacy efforts support the following key policy priorities:
Restoring Patient Choice
KCP remains committed to reinstating statutory protections for individuals with kidney disease through the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (H.R. 6860). All patients deserve choice during their kidney care journey, and KCP is working to ensure they are shielded from inequitable and discriminatory insurer practices resulting from the Supreme Court’s disappointing decision in Marietta v. DaVita.
Reimbursement for Innovative Products
For years, insufficient reimbursement for innovative products in kidney care has hindered kidney disease research and development. KCP strongly believes that the kidney care community deserves next-generation treatments that improve patients’ quality of life. KCP will continue to advance policies that establish fair and equitable reimbursement under Medicare and incentivize the development of innovative treatments and therapies.
Medicare Advantage Payments
As the number of beneficiaries with ESRD participating in a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan grows, KCP asks that policymakers enact policies that ensure these patients have access to comprehensive coverage, regardless of where they live or which Medicare coverage option they choose.
Oral-Only Drugs
KCP is advocating for a delay in the implementation of the inclusion of oral-only phosphate-lowering drugs into the ESRD Prospective Payment Systems (PPS) payment bundle. Given the unique requirements for the administration of these medications, including oral-only phosphate-lowering drugs in the bundle will create significant compliance obstacles for both patients and providers.
“On behalf of the millions of Americans currently living with kidney disease, the need to advance these policies has never been greater,” Krishnan concluded. “By advocating for policy reforms that prioritize patient choice, innovation, and access to quality care, KCP remains committed to supporting advancements in kidney care and improving outcomes for all those affected by kidney disease.”