While only a few weeks after its introduction, the Chronic Kidney Disease Improvement in Research and Treatment Act (H.R. 1130/S. 598) is gaining new cosponsors in Congress. That said, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure this legislation is signed into law. If you want to see better care for dialysis patients, please take a few minutes to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support this important legislation by clicking here.
Representatives Tom Marino (R-PA), John Lewis (D-GA) and Peter Roskam (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1130 as the bill’s original sponsors. They are now joined by cosponsors Corinne Brown (D-FL), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Joseph Heck (R-NV), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Glenn Thompson (R-PA). The Senate version (S. 598) was introduced by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Bill Nelson (D-FL). We need your support to help secure additional cosponsors in the Senate.
Members of Congress need to hear from you about why this bill is so important to dialysis patients. For example, it would provide access to Medicare Advantage plans for dialysis patients, enabling them to benefit from greater coordination of care and lower out-of-pocket expenses. Second, it would help to identify gaps in chronic kidney disease (CKD) research, require that the Health and Human Services Secretary conduct a study on the progression of CKD and how it is treated in minority populations, improve coordination between the different agencies conducting CKD research and ensure that federal funding for CKD research is appropriate relative to the disease’s cost. Third, the bill would help to stabilize dialysis funding.
