Improving Access to Home Dialysis Act aims to
reduce barriers to treatment and increase access to care
WASHINGTON, April 23,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney Foundation
is applauding a move by Congress to increase access to care and
improve outcomes for some patients on dialysis.
The Improving Access to Home Dialysis Act (HR-8075) was
introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps.
Carol Miller (R-WV), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA). A companion
bill is expected to be introduced soon in the Senate.
"Patients deserve to know about all options
for dialysis so they can make an educated choice for
themselves."
Home dialysis is a form of renal (kidney) replacement therapy
(aka, dialysis) that can be done at home by the patient alone or
with the help of a care partner. While home dialysis is not for
everyone, it can offer patients convenience and flexibility to do
their treatments in the comfort of their own homes and without a
rigid dialysis schedule set for them. The therapy can be especially
useful to patients in rural or remote areas who have to travel long
distances to reach a dialysis facility. This flexibility can
greatly improve the quality of life for patients and help make them
more likely to maintain employment and remain healthy enough to
qualify for transplantation.
Only 14% of patients on dialysis in the US are using at-home
options, despite evidence showing that it may be a better option
for some (but not all) patients1. Lack of information is
a major barrier as many patients are not informed there are options
beyond the traditional in-center care.
"Patients deserve to know about all options for dialysis so they
can make an educated choice for themselves," said Kevin Longino, Chief Executive Officer of the
National Kidney Foundation and a kidney transplant recipient.
"Too many patients are never told they have options, besides
in-center dialysis, that could improve their quality of life.
We are deeply appreciative of Reps. Miller, Strickland, Blumenauer,
and Miller Meeks for their
introduction of the Improving Access to Home Dialysis Act, which
will help more patients learn about and gain access to home
dialysis."
The Improving Access to Home Dialysis Act will:
- Mandate that patients get proper education on all of their
dialysis options, including making sure that even patients who
crash onto dialysis with no preparation can get education on other
options once they have stabilized and can make informed decisions
about their future.
- Expand the universe of healthcare providers who can provide
home dialysis training to remove the burden from the nursing staff
and cut down on wait times to get trained. It would also allow for
the use of group training, telehealth, and off-site training when
appropriate.
- Cover the costs of in-home healthcare support staff for
patients when they're beginning their home dialysis journey. This
in-home assistance would help patients transition from the facility
and support the patient and if available, their care partner, with
the goal that they become fully independent over time. Some
patients with certain disabilities or other concerns could be
eligible for continuing in-home assistance.
Patients and advocates who have been able to utilize Home
Dialysis in the past are also voicing their support.
"In 2001, I was fortunate to be offered home hemodialysis soon
after I crashed into End Stage Kidney Disease," said Erich Ditschman, an NKF volunteer from
Michigan. "Home dialysis gives me
the energy and health to be a better husband, father, and friend.
Many of the patients on in-center dialysis may not know home
dialysis exists or have not been given the opportunity to use it.
Once passed and signed, this legislation will help to make home
dialysis much more accessible, especially to rural patients. It
will save lives and help many ESKD patients to flourish."
"I am grateful to Reps. Miller, Strickland, Blumenauer, and
Miller Meeks for spearheading this
push to make home dialysis more accessible for us," said
Bell Maddux, an NKF advocate from
Pennsylvania. "Policies like this
make me increasingly optimistic that more kidney patients
struggling with dialysis can have a chance to get some of their
life back."
Additional Resources
Bill: Improving Access to Home
Dialysis Act
Press Release from Rep. Carol Miller
(R-WV)
Press Release from Rep. Mariannette
Miller-Meeks (R-IA)
NKF Article: Making the Case for Home Dialysis
Additional background: Erich
Ditschman: Michigan Advocate to Receive Award
Additional background: Bell
Maddux: Testimony to the House Ways & Means Committee on
Home Dialysis
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, more than 37
million adults are estimated to have kidney disease, also known as
chronic kidney disease (CKD)—and approximately 90 percent don't
know they have it. About 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are at risk
for kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease
include: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or
African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska
Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease.
Black or African American people are about four times as likely as
White people to have kidney failure. Hispanics experience
kidney failure at about double the rate of White people.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to
save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating
innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and
dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and
transplantation. For more information about kidney disease, please
visit www.kidney.org/
1 United States Renal Data System. 2023 USRDS Annual
Data Report: Epidemiology of kidney disease in the United States. National Institutes of
Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases, Bethesda, MD, 2023.
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SOURCE The National Kidney Foundation