You might be hearing a lot about what’s not happening in the nation’s Capitol right now but one thing that is happening is the BETTER Kidney Care Act—to expand care coordination opportunities for dialysis patients.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the health of kidney disease patients at risk more than ever before, while also showing the many challenges to ensuring their continuity of their care. Here’s a first-person take on the issue from Felice Moore, of Indianapolis:
I’ve been on dialysis for 19 years, but my experience with dialysis treatments goes back even further to 1989, before I received my first kidney transplant. After my first transplant failed in 1994, I received another that lasted from 1997 until 2000.
Since being back on dialysis, I’ve benefited from the fact that my primary care doctor, my heart doctor, and my nephrologist are all able to coordinate their treatments and ensure they work together. However, I know other patients are often the ones who have to connect the dots for their doctors and make sure their treatment plans are aligned. This places a lot of pressure on patients to manage something that could be more efficiently coordinated by their doctors.
Thankfully, Congress is working on a new bill called the BETTER Kidney Care Act to address this issue. It would make it easier for a dialysis patient’s doctors to work together and align their treatments, while also offering some important services that dialysis patients don’t currently get through Medicare.