NMQF Action Network Urges Congress to Pass the Kidney PATIENT Act

S.4510/H.R. 5074 Prioritize Innovation, Patient Health Outcomes &Government Efficiency

Washington, D.C. — Dr. Gary Puckrein, President and CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum Action Network, issued an urgent call to Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to protect dialysis patients by including the Kidney PATIENT Act (S.4510/H.R.5074) in the Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025.

Notably absent from the Continuing Resolution is the extension of current law preserving existing coverage of life-saving medication for dialysis patients. The National Minority Quality Forum Action Network (NMQFAN) is raising alarms over the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) plan to include Phosphate Lowering Therapies (PLTs) in the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) payment bundle starting January 1, 2025. This decision, Dr. Puckrein emphasized, will drastically increase barriers to life-saving medications for dialysis patients who currently rely on Medicare Part D coverage.

“In just a few days, we are reaching the edge of the cliff for dialysis patients,” said Dr. Puckrein. “These patients, many of whom come from minoritized, rural, and working-class communities, depend on Medicare Part D coverage for PLTs to mitigate their risk of mortality. Without swift Congressional action, the CMS plan will cost patients and the government hundreds of millions of dollars and put lives in jeopardy.”

The Kidney PATIENT Act (S.4510/H.R.5074), a bipartisan effort with widespread support, ensures that PLTs remain accessible by delaying their addition to the ESRD bundle until 2027. Notably, this legislation comes at no cost to taxpayers. CMS itself has acknowledged the combined impact of the policies proposed in their new rule would cost the federal government $180 million in CY 2025 and over $200 million for patients in increased co-pays. 

NMQF Action Network, alongside over 150 stakeholders from patient advocacy groups, racial equity organizations, labor unions, and faith-based leadership, has called on Congress to prioritize this urgent matter.

“Congress has stood with dialysis patients before by preserving access to PLTs, and it is essential that Congress act again,” Dr. Puckrein concluded.

The National Minority Quality Forum urges Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries to include S.4510/H.R.5074 in the final healthcare package before it is too late.

###

About National Minority Quality Forum Action Network

National Minority Quality Forum Action Network (NMQFAN) is the 501(c)4 nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of National Minority Quality Forum. NMQFAN is a resource to legislators and policymakers, helping them to think through the vexing challenges of providing optimal care to all Americans. NMQFAN’s mission is to advocate for a transformation of our legacy healthcare finance, research, and delivery systems so that the prime directive of the new system is to reduce patient risk for poor health outcomes while improving the quality of life by assuring optimal care for all.