Pres. Trump signs executive order on kidney health initiative offering significant advancements

The federal government has set up an initiative intended to bring relief to the more than 37 million Americans who suffer from kidney disease and the family members who help take care of them.   For African Americans, kidney disease affects a larger percentage than any other group. Early  detection could save a life as can having access to the right resources, which the Trump Administration intends to deliver through the Advancing American Kidney Health effort.

Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order on Advancing American Kidney Health,  the biggest presidential action specific to kidney disease since 1973 when President Nixon signed into law the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease benefits. 

The ninth leading cause of death in the United States, kidney disease does not discriminate -- affecting, young old, rich and poor. Case in point: R&B/Pop music legend Stevie Wonder has halted his tour to prepare for a kidney transplant this fall.  Wonder is one of millions of African Americans who are three times more likely to  experience renal failure and  among a growing number of individuals who require an organ transplant.   Fortunately, Wonder assured his fans at a concert in London recently that he has a donor and will undergo surgery.  However, unlike Mr. Wonder, finding a match and handling the cost of dialysis treatments are a burden for the average patient suffering from kidney failure.  In the near future, the artificial kidney may be an option that limits wait times for transplants with a push from the federal government.

The primary goal of advancing kidney health through the new initiative is prevention.  Ensuring that patients have access to a variety of treatment options, at home dialysis,  more transplants to reduce the need for dialysis and affordable plans are also a focus.   

There are some promising development of improving and hopefully prolonging the lives of those affected by kidney disease to lessen the burden of care.

Outlined below are details the White House provided.  

ADVANCING KIDNEY HEALTH: President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order aimed at improving kidney health and promoting increased treatment options for American patients.

• Today, President Trump signed an executive order launching a kidney health initiative to improve the lives of Americans suffering from kidney disease. 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.
• Under the executive order, Medicare will test adjusting payment incentives to encourage preventative kidney care and the use of home dialysis and kidney transplants.
• President Trump is directing his Administration to develop a process to get artificial kidneys to patients in order to encourage development of such technology.
• The Administration will take action to streamline and expedite the process of kidney matching in order to help increase transplants.
• The President is beginning the process of removing financial barriers to organ donation by allowing for reimbursement of lost wages and childcare expenses of organ donors.

IMPROVING TREATMENT OPTIONS: The current quality of care for patients with kidney disease is unacceptable and treatment options are far too expensive.

• Across America, 37 million patients suffer from chronic kidney disease and more than 726,000 have end-stage renal disease.
• Current available treatment options are too expensive and fail to provide a high quality of life.
• The mortality rate for kidney disease is far too high, with kidney disease ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in America.
• There are nearly 100,000 Americans waiting to receive a kidney transplant.
• Each year more than 100,000 Americans begin dialysis to treat end-stage renal disease, fifty percent of whom die within five years.

TAKING A NEW APPROACH: President Trump has refused to accept the status quo and has taken an innovative approach to deliver new treatment options for major diseases.

• The President has repeatedly sought to make innovative investments that help patients and ultimately lower costs in the long run.
• The Trump Administration’s pediatric cancer effort has recognized that we need a different approach to cancer treatment options for children.
• President Trump’s initiative to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic over the next decade will improve Americans’ lives and lower healthcare spending in the long run.
• The President signed Right to Try into law, which allows terminally ill patients access to potentially lifesaving drugs.