Kidney failure turned my life upside down. I was only 19 years old and three months pregnant when I began dialysis, the only treatment outside of a transplant for kidney failure. Since then, I’ve received a transplant that ultimately failed, and I’ve spent nearly a decade back on dialysis. It’s an exhausting and all-consuming treatment — but what makes it worse is how outdated and underfunded our system is when it comes to new therapies.
That’s why I support the Kidney Care Access Protection Act (KCAPA). It would fix the way Medicare pays for innovative drugs and devices used in dialysis care, extending coverage periods and ensuring treatments are funded fairly and promptly. Right now, there’s no real incentive to bring new options to market, even though patients desperately need them. These innovative treatments help dialysis patients prevent infection, fight anemia, soothe itchy skin and control phosphorus levels. It’s no trivial matter.
I’ve seen firsthand how under-resourced dialysis clinics already are. My center is short-staffed. New technicians often aren’t fully trained. Mistakes happen. The system is stretched thin. And still, we’re expected to just accept the status quo.
Patients like me deserve better. We need safer, more effective tools. KCAPA will help bring those innovations to the people who need them most and ensure that Medicare Advantage plans don’t leave us behind.
Julie Nast, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
