Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is spearheading a bipartisan letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urging increased federal efforts to research and treat chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Rep. Buchanan is calling for the establishment of an Officer of Kidney Health and Transplantation within HHS, who will serve as a centralized leader to coordinate federal research on CKD, kidney care, and education, including with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
According to Rep. Buchanan's letter, 37 million Americans suffer from CKD, which is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity, yet even as it costs the federal government $150 billion per year, he argues that we have "treatment modalities remaining largely unchanged since Medicare began paying for dialysis treatment services for individuals with ESRD in 1973."
In other words, chronic kidney disease is a bigger problem than the United States realizes, and encouraging innovation in the field is essentially nonexistent.
In a press release, Rep. Buchanan comments, "Kidney disease is a growing challenge in our country, and we have an opportunity to work together to better support patients through stronger coordination and prevention." "Establishing a Kidney Health Officer at HHS would build on existing efforts, strengthen prevention strategies, and help ensure patients have access to care sooner. We can’t afford to wait until lives are at risk—prevention must come first to stop kidney disease before it takes hold."
Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), the letter's cosigner, said, "We cannot continue to treat kidney disease with 1970s-era solutions." "Establishing an Officer of Kidney Health and Transplantation could provide leadership to transform kidney disease from an expensive, life-threatening burden into a manageable condition, while saving both taxpayer dollars and, more importantly, American lives," Rep. Doggett concluded.
At the beginning of February, Buchanan introduced the Produce Prescription for Veterans Act, which authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prescribe special diets and to issue debit cards or vouchers that veterans can use to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at little to no additional cost.
