Kidney Care Partners Urges Kidney Disease Awareness & Legislative Support During National Kidney Month and World Kidney Day
WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In recognition of World Kidney Day (March 8) and National Kidney Month, Kidney Care Partners — a nationwide alliance of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, providers and manufacturers working together to improve the quality of care for individuals with kidney failure — urges Congress to support critical legislation that would ensure access to high quality care and create long- needed education and prevention programs. The Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 (S. 691 and H.R. 1193) was introduced last week by Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Dave Camp (R-MI).
The newly introduced legislation establishes patient education and disease management programs to inform patients about how to identify and manage kidney disease to delay the onset of kidney failure. The legislation also funds programs to increase awareness about kidney disease to help more Americans understand how to avoid developing it. These programs can help stem the rising tide of kidney failure in the United States, as well as ensure that dialysis patients have continued access to quality care. The bill also establishes a continuous quality improvement initiative that would provide facilities and physicians who treat patients with kidney failure with quality-based payments funded through a portion of an annual update. Because dialysis facilities are the only Medicare providers without an annual update to adjust for inflationary cost increases, the quality initiative establishes a three-year update that is tied to the attainment of quality benchmarks and substantial improvement in outcomes. Adequate and stable reimbursement is critical to ensuring continued patient access to high quality care.
“National Kidney Month and World Kidney Day present the kidney community with a unique opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the health of the more than 20 million Americans suffering from some form of kidney disease,” said Dr. Edward Jones, Chairman of Kidney Care Partners (KCP). “The Kidney Care Quality and Education Act will ensure quality care for current kidney disease patients as well as educate future generations on key prevention and disease management measures. We encourage the continued bipartisan support from Congress on this significant piece of legislation for the kidney community.”
Approximately 400,000 Americans currently suffer from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) — or kidney failure — the vast majority of whom require dialysis several times a week, for an average of 3.5 hours per session to continue to live. Diabetes, obesity, and hypertension are among the greatest risk factors and at the current rate of new cases of kidney disease, the number of patients experiencing kidney failure is expected to increase 85 percent between 2000 and 2015. Better disease management and early detection are among the best ways to prevent the onset of kidney failure.
Kidney Care Partners is an alliance of patient advocates, dialysis professionals, providers and manufacturers working together to improve the quality of care for individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
Kidney Care Partners
CONTACT: Jennifer Lawson of Kidney Care Partners, +1-703-548-0019