Advocacy and Public Policy
Shaping Public Policy for Nephrology Health Professionals
ASN promotes the highest quality care by serving as the professional organization informing health policy in kidney disease. Click on the magnifying glass to search by keyword or follow links at the left for more information.
ASN & NKF send letter to FDA Commissioner Califf offering to help cultivate the growing interest in therapeutic development to benefit people with kidney diseases
In the letter, ASN and NKF discuss the need for therapeutic development and innovation to target kidney diseases and offer several approaches to ensure patients with kidney diseases receive valuable access to care.
- Posted Tuesday, November 08, 2022 @ 5:10 PM
Striving for Greater Equity and Quality in the Medicare ESRD Program
ASN advocates for steps to address greater equity in the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease Program for both children and adults, increase quality efforts in home dialysis, support payment for innovation in kidney care, and bring balance to payments in the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.
- Posted Monday, August 22, 2022 @ 5:34 PM
ASN Highlights it's Top 10 Transplant Policy Priorities
ASN urges HHS to create an office of Organ Transplant Policy and focus on 10 key priorities emphasizing Equity, Patient Care, and System Reform.
- Posted Thursday, August 11, 2022 @ 3:48 PM
ASN Responds to Health Resources & Services Administration''s (HRSA) Request for information regarding Ways to Strengthen and Improve the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)
In the response letter, ASN highlights the need for separating the technology portion of the OPTN contract as a stand-alone contract, requiring OPTN contractors to have complete and accurate data readily available, and enforcing OPTN and contractor(s) have separate governance boards
- Posted Thursday, May 26, 2022 @ 11:23 AM
ASN and 50+ organizations request $30M in funding for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program
The requested $30 million for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program will lessen financial disincentives for pursuing pediatric specialty training, increase children's access to subspecialty care, and allow for shorter wait times and shorter travel distances to receive care
- Posted Thursday, May 19, 2022 @ 1:36 PM
ASN Calls on HHS Secretary Becerra to Renew COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) unequivocally supports the renewal of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and calls on the Biden-Harris Administration and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to renew the PHE and prioritize the needs of individuals with kidney diseases. ASN urges the administration to maintain the PHE until the global pandemic has receded and the capabilities authorized by the PHE are no longer necessary.
- Posted Sunday, May 15, 2022 @ 11:32 AM
ASN and NKF urge National Government Services (NGS) to align its medical policies with recommendations from the NKF-ASN Task Force
In the letter, ASN and NKF request NGS to adopt the recommendations from the NKF-ASN Task Force, especially the recommendation to have increased, routine, and timely use of cystatin C for confirmatory assessment of kidney function.
- Posted Thursday, April 14, 2022 @ 11:31 AM
ASN Urges COVID Czar Jha to Protect People with Kidney Diseases
The American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA), the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), and the Renal Healthcare Association (RHA), sent a letter to Dr. Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, thanking the Biden-Harris Administration for all of its work to ensure the health of all Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic—especially the 37 million Americans living with kidney diseases—and to congratulate Dr. Jha on his appointment to serve as the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. The organizations urged Dr. Jha to keep people with kidney diseases and those that provide care in mind as the administration prepares for future COVID-19 variants and surges.
- Posted Friday, April 08, 2022 @ 3:27 PM
ASN responds to CMS regarding the Medicare Advantage (MA) Proposed Rule
In a letter to CMS Secretary Becerra and HHS Administrator Brooks-LaSure, ASN highlights four major issues of interest with the rapidly expanding cohort of individuals with advanced chronic kidney disease in MA plans: Aligning Care Models for CKD and ESRD Care in MA Plan with Traditional Medicare, Harmonizing Measurement of care quality, Expanding C-SNP plans to CKD care, and Addressing the widening data gap.
- Posted Friday, March 11, 2022 @ 4:10 PM
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has accepted the nomination of CKD screening
USPSTF notified the Coalition for Kidney Health (C4KH), led by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), and joined by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) as a founding member, in a letter on February 14, 2022.
- Posted Wednesday, February 16, 2022 @ 2:43 PM
More than 30 members of Congress urge CMS to cover dialysis as a hospice benefit
To ensure all Medicare beneficiaries have the choice of care that is best suited for them, more than 30 members of Congress sent a letter to CMS urging the expansion of hospice benefits to include short-term palliative dialysis for people with terminal kidney failure
- Posted Friday, February 11, 2022 @ 5:06 PM
ASN Responds to CMS' Request For Information regarding Health and Safety Requirements for Transplant Programs, Organ Procurement Organizations, and End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities
In the letter, ASN urges CMS to increase access to transplantation, home dialysis, and system wide transparency to ensure kidney patients receive the highest quality of care and equitable access to transplantation.
- Posted Wednesday, February 02, 2022 @ 11:12 AM
Due to the recent COVID-19 Omicron surge, ASN, NKF, ANNA, and RHA sent a letter to the Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra and the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, Mr. Zients
ASN, NKF, ANNA, and RHA are urging the government to support kidney patients by alleviating the supply crises at dialysis facilities, distribute high level face coverings to dialysis facilities, clarify the CMS policy on pre-filled saline syringes and saline protocol, and encourage state and federal governments to allow reciprocity for nurses who interstate practice
- Posted Friday, January 28, 2022 @ 1:54 PM
