Dear Colleague:

Last week, Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn and I introduced the “Kidney Patient Daily Dialysis Quality Act of 2003.” Once passed, this legislation will move Medicare beyond the current one-size fits-all End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) reimbursement method. Currently, Medicare only covers three hemodialysis treatments each week. This bill would allow the Medicare program to pay for more frequent hemodialysis treatments, as defined by at least five times a week, provided in the home or in a dialysis facility.

Since 1972, when the Medicare program was expanded to include coverage for ESRD, the program has paid for three hemodialysis sessions per week. However, a growing body of scientific and medical evidence shows that more frequent dialysis offers greater health benefits for many patients. This legislation will enhance the original Congressional goals for the ESRD program by optimizing patient independence and rehabilitation and allowing for greater patient choice of ESRD treatment modalities.

The conventional three times a week treatment regime that Medicare currently covers does not provide optimum health and quality of life for many patients. It requires costly medications and too frequent hospitalizations that cost Medicare millions of dollars each year. More frequent dialysis improves patient health and well being, enabling more patients to return to work or school, while reducing the amount of drugs required and the frequency of hospital stays.

The Kidney Patient Daily Dialysis Quality Act of 2003 would enable ESRD patients to receive more frequent dialysis if determined appropriate by physicians in conjunction with their patients. While this legislation will lead to savings for the Medicare program, it is also about something a great deal more -improving quality-of-life for patients with End Stage Renal Disease and returning decisions about health care back to physicians and their patients.

I urge you to become a co-sponsor of this essential piece of legislation. Please contact my legislative assistant, Jesse Kerns, at 5-3106 for more information.

Sincerely,
 
 

Jim McDermott
Member of Congress