AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY APPLAUDS THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE FOR ADVANCING THE KIDNEY PATIENT ACT (HR 5074)

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) commends congressional leaders on the House Ways and Means committee for advancing the Kidney PATIENT Act, bipartisan legislation to maintain patient access to oral-only medications by retaining coverage through Medicare Part D.
More than 500,000 patients undergoing dialysis require numerous medications to manage their health, and, for many patients this includes certain oral-only medications, such as phosphate binders. These vital oral-only medications are best dispensed by pharmacies, who have dedicated infrastructure suited to promoting at-home medication adherence and are more accessible to patients.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY COMMENDS CONGRESS FOR HIGHLIGHTING THE HONOR OUR LIVING DONORS ACT (H.R. 6020)

At a hearing today focused on supporting patients with rare diseases, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee will consider Honor Our Living Donors Act (H.R. 6020), legislation to improve support for living organ donors.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY CONGRATULATES HOUSE AND SENATE SPONSORS UPON ENACTMENT OF THE SECURING THE U.S. ORGAN PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPLANTATION NETWORK

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) congratulates the House and Senate sponsors of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act upon President Biden signing the legislation and thanks the Biden-Harris administration for its commitment to improving American’s access to transplantation.

American Society of Nephrology and American Association of Kidney Patients Call on Congress to Increase Funding for Kidney Innovation and Veterans with Kidney Diseases

The prevalence of kidney diseases in the United States is at a record high. Today, more than 50 advocates from ASN and AAKP, representing people with kidney diseases and the health care professionals who serve them, will meet with their members of Congress and call for a $25 million investment in kidney innovation at KidneyX and support of veteran active duty service members living with or at risk of kidney diseases through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA) Kidney Health Program and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).

American Society of Nephrology Statement on Health Resources and Services Administration Initiative to Modernize Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) welcomes the significant changes to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)—a sweeping “OPTN Modernization Initiative”—announced today by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson.

American Society of Nephrology Statement on the United Network for Organ Sharing Clarifying Promise to Living Donors

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is grateful that the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has responded to urgent requests from living donors, patients, their families, and ASN, to commit to honoring promises to living donors in its forthcoming new kidney allocation system.

American Society of Nephrology Statement on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Draft Research Plan on Screening for Kidney Diseases

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is encouraged by the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announcement to solicit comment on USPSTF’s draft research plan on screening for kidney diseases. This development follows more than a decade of advocacy in support of more kidney health screening by ASN and other stakeholders dedicated to intervening earlier to slow or stop the progression of kidney diseases.

Kidneycure Grant Applications Now Open to Support Investigators Committed to Advancing Kidney Health

KidneyCure, the grants program supported by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Foundation, today announced that applications for its 2023 grants programs are now open. KidneyCure grants support clinical and basic research and kidney health investigators at key professional development milestones. The submission deadline is Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. EST. Grant applications and guidelines can be found at https://www.kidneycure.org/

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY STRONGLY SUPPORTS CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF TRANSPLANT SYSTEM

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) supports efforts by Congress to improve the US transplant system. Today, the Senate Finance Committee will conduct an oversight hearing, A System in Need of Repair: Addressing Organizational Failures of the U.S.’s Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY AND 19 KIDNEY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CALL ON CONGRESS TO PROTECT LIVING DONORS, FUND RESEARCH AND INNOVATION, AND REMOVE BARRIERS TO TELEHEALTH

Today, advocates of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and 19 other kidney health professional and patient organizations are meeting with their congressional delegations, calling on them to enact policies to improve kidney health

Advocates from ASN Urges Congress to Change the Status Quo in Kidney Health

• More than 37 million Americans live with kidney diseases.
• 800,000 Americans have kidney failure, a condition for which there is no cure.
• Kidney diseases disproportionately affect communities of color.
• COVID-19, especially deadly for people with kidney diseases, has highlighted the urgent need for change

Winners announced in second round of the KidneyX COVID-19 Kidney Care Challenge

Today, the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) announced seven winners in Round 2 of the KidneyX COVID-19 Kidney Care Challenge. From December to January, healthcare providers, dialysis centers, nonprofit health systems, and other entrants submitted solutions that could reduce the transmission of coronavirus among people with kidney disease and/or reduce the risk of kidney damage among people who contract the virus.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY LEADS EFFORTS TO ADVANCE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF COVID-19 VACCINES TO DIALYSIS PATIENTS

Washington, DC (February 25, 2021) —The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) is spearheading efforts to secure direct federal allocation of COVID-19 vaccines to dialysis patients and frontline dialysis workers. This allocation would improve access for a vulnerable patient population, more than half of whom are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders (NHPIs).

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY CALLS ON BIDEN- HARRIS ADMINISTRATION TO INCREASE TRANSPLANT AVAILABILITY AND EQUITY

— The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) re- affirms its supporti for the Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) Conditions for Coverage final rule issued on November 20, 2020. The society calls for the Biden-Harris administration to implement this final policy as expediently as possible. By bringing objective and verifiable standards to assess the performance of OPOs, this final rule will increase the number of organs available for transplant and reduce racial inequity in the U.S. transplant system.

KIDNEYCURE ANNOUNCES 2020 GRANT RECIPIENTS

• Kidney diseases affect more than 850 million people worldwide.

• KidneyCure continues to propel positive change in public health, once again funding more than $3 million to support research that changes lives.

• This year’s grant recipients, among the best and the brightest in the field, bring energy, innovation and expertise to areas undergoing rapid change: acute kidney injury and repair, home dialysis, and post-transplant care.

KIDNEY HEALTH INITIATIVE URGES INVESTIGATORS TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH KIDNEY DISEASES IN CLINICAL TRIALS FOR CORONAVIRUS 2019 (COVID-19) THERAPIES

People with kidney diseases are often excluded from clinical trials because of the complexity and high morbidity of kidney disease.

COVID-19 puts people with kidney diseases at a two to sixteen-fold increased risk of severe symptoms.

All investigators should include people with kidney diseases when developing vaccines, preventative therapies or treatments related to COVID-19.

KIDNEY HEALTH INITIATIVE URGES THE ACCELERATION OF HOME THERAPY TECHNOLOGY IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS 2019 (COVID-19)

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vulnerability of people with kidney failure who rely on in-center hemodialysis. People with kidney failure are at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications and are exposed to infection due to a kidney replacement therapy process that requires traveling to a dialysis facility multiple times a week.

HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE DRUG COVERAGE, A KEY LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY OF AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY

Washington, DC (January 8, 2020) — The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday, January 8, on the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019, advancing a long-standing legislative priority of the American Society of Nephrology.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY TRANSPLANT POLICY PRIORITIES AT CENTER OF BOLD NEW PROPOSED RULES

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today took bold steps in two proposed rules to increase the availability of organs for the 113,000 Americans waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant – 20 of whom die each day – and to strengthen support for Americans who choose to be living donors. Both proposed rules advance policy changes the American Society of Nephrology has long been advocating for and is strongly supportive of.

STATEMENT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY PRESIDENT MARK E. ROSENBERG, MD, FASN, ON THE KIDNEY CARE CHOICES MODEL ASN welcomes “visionary approach for the future of kidney care.”

American Society of Nephrology President Mark E. Rosenberg, MD, FASN, has issued the following statement regarding the new Kidney Care Choices Model:

“The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) welcomes the introduction of the voluntary Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model, and its four kidney care payment options, addressing key aspects of the Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health (AAKH). This voluntary model will be a true game changer and brings desperately needed, sweeping changes to care for people with kidney diseases. ASN has long advocated for key elements of this model, and I thank HHS Secretary Azar and his entire team for putting forward such a visionary approach for the future of kidney care.

KIDNEY HEALTH INITIATIVE LAUNCHES PROJECT TO MEASURE PATIENT PREFERENCES FOR NOVEL KIDNEY DEVICES

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded a contract to the Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) to study patient preferences for innovative renal replacement therapy (RRT) devices. The three-year project, “Building Capacity to Incorporate Patient Preferences into the Development of Innovative Alternatives to Renal Replacement Therapy” will capture patient preference and risk tolerance data from people with kidney failure to drive innovations in RRT.

KIDNEYX INTRODUCES STEERING COMMITTEE

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) today introduced the members of the newly formed KidneyX Innovation Accelerator (KidneyX) steering committee. This diverse group of experts will play a critical role in advancing the KidneyX mission to improve the lives of the 850,000,000 people worldwide currently affected by kidney diseases by accelerating innovation in kidney disease prevention, diagnostics, and treatment.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY LAUNCHES NEW INITIATIVE THAT AIMS TO SAVE LIVES FOR PEOPLE SUFFERING WITH ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY

The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) recently launched a new initiative aimed at saving lives of those who suffer from acute kidney injury (AKI). Made possible by a grant from Baxter Healthcare Corporation, the effort is called AKI!Now: Promoting Excellence in the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury.