In the first major transformation in kidney care in almost 50 years, the Trump Administration today announced the Advancing the American Kidney Health initiative. The comprehensive kidney health strategy will bring sweeping changes to care for people with kidney diseases, including more choices for dialysis modalities, greater access to transplantation, and concerted support for development of innovative therapies, including artificial kidneys.
In the first major transformation in kidney care in almost 50 years, the Trump Administration today announced the Advancing the American Kidney Health initiative. The comprehensive kidney health strategy will bring sweeping changes to care for people with kidney diseases, including more choices for dialysis modalities, greater access to transplantation, and concerted support for development of innovative therapies, including artificial kidneys.
Before an audience of more than 500 patients with kidney diseases, nephrologists, and other kidney community advocates, President Trump signed an Executive Order launching the initiative.
“Today was a gamechanger for people with kidney disease and for the care of these people. For the entire government and president to show this much interest in kidney disease and kidney failure is unprecedented,” said ASN President Mark E. Rosenberg, MD, FASN. “Having the president sign an Executive Order that increases the recognition of the value, diagnosis, development and use of alternative dialysis therapies, and increasing the number of transplants signals to the kidney community that they are serious about changing the care of kidney patients.”
According to the White House statement accompanying the announcement, “the initiative seeks to:
- Prevent kidney failure through better diagnosis, treatment, and preventative care.
- Increase affordable alternative treatment options, educate patients on treatment alternatives, and encourage the development of artificial kidneys.
- Increase access to kidney transplants by modernizing the transplant system and updating counterproductive regulations.”
With 37 million Americans affected by kidney disease and 720,000 of those with kidney failure, the need could not be greater for patients, families, and caregivers. As the president pointed out, Medicare spends $35 billion on kidney failure and $114 billion annually on all kidney diseases.
The Executive Order directs Medicare to develop and test payment models, also unveiled today, to encourage preventive kidney care and increase use of home dialysis and kidney transplantation. The president also directed his administration to develop a process to deliver an artificial kidney to patients and increase the efficiency of the organ transplant system. In a statement released by HHS, the administration outlined three goals in this area:
- Reducing the number of Americans developing kidney failure by 25% by 2030.
- Ensuring 80% of new kidney failure patients in 2025 either are receiving dialysis at home or are receiving a transplant.
- Doubling the number of kidneys available for transplant by 2030.
“The cross-cutting vision for kidney care laid out today marks one of the biggest policy transformations for advancing kidney health since the creation of the Medicare ESRD benefit in 1972 that took effect 46 years ago this July.”
Moments before signing the Executive Order, President Trump stated, “[It’s] very special; the kidney has a very special place in the heart. It’s an incredible thing.”
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