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 submits comment letter on ESRD Prospective Payment System, ESRD Quality Incentive Program, and ESRD Treatment Choices Model
In a comment letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, ASN highlights its recommendations for improving the ESRD Prospective Payment System, including TPNIES to increase innovation. Improving the ESRD Quality Incentive Program to illustrate health inequities and alleviate disparities. Improving ESRD ETC model by promoting coordinated care across kidney health systems, promoting intervention earlier to curb the progression of CKD, increase transplantation and home dialysis, and provide more patient centered choices and better clinical outcomes.
- Posted Friday, September 03, 2021 @ 3:16 PM
Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler calls for 3rd vaccine dose to be provided to people with a transplant
Expressing concern on behalf of Americans living with a solid organ transplant or health conditions leading to a compromised immune system, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler called on HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to expedite the provision of a 3rd COVID-19 vaccine dose for immunosuppressed and immunocompromised people, as well as study the impact of COVID-19 and different vaccination strategies on transplant recipients and immunocompromised people.
- Posted Wednesday, August 04, 2021 @ 2:27 PM
Representative DelBene's and Representative Bucshon's letter to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)
Rep. DelBene and Rep. Bucshon lead a Congressional sign-on letter urging the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to develop Chronic Kidney Disease screening recommendations to help ease this public health epidemic.
- Posted Monday, August 02, 2021 @ 4:56 PM
ASN submits detailed outline of steps the federal government needs to take to address inequities and barriers to kidney care for minoritized and underserved communities.
In a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget, ASN highlights the key issues causing disparities in kidney care and provides policy goals to curb these inequities that burden patients with kidney disease.
- Posted Friday, July 16, 2021 @ 2:54 PM
ASN provides comments to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Regarding Its RFI
In a letter to AHRQ Acting Director David Meyers, MD, ASN outlines the historical development of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the Kidney Donor Risk Index (KDRI) algorithms and discusses implications of the use of race variables on quality of care and health disparities.
- Posted Friday, May 14, 2021 @ 2:02 PM
ASN's comment letter on Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology
ASN provides comments on the interim final rule, "Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) and Definition of "Reasonable and Necessary" and encourages CMS to provide additional guidance to address any operational difficulties surrounding coding, payment, and benefit category determination.
- Posted Thursday, May 13, 2021 @ 3:50 PM
A Letter to the President to Increase International Vaccine Efforts
In a letter to President Biden, ASN has requested the administration coordinate with WHO, other countries, and international organizations, identify and supply necessary medical equipment, and increased vaccine production in order to reduce additional suffering and death around the world.
- Posted Thursday, May 13, 2021 @ 11:17 AM
A HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP TO VACCINATE DIALYSIS PATIENTS
An unprecedented collaboration among the White House, CDC, ASN, and dialysis organizations across the United States led to the creation of a Partnership to Vaccinate Dialysis Patients which will provide COVID-19 vaccinations to people receiving dialysis and health care personnel in outpatient dialysis clinics.
- Posted Friday, April 16, 2021 @ 10:35 AM
ASN's Vaccine Advocacy to State Departments of Health
In an effort to prioritize patients with kidney disease for the COVID-19 vaccine, ASN has directly contacted over 40 State Departments of Health requesting patients with kidney failure receiving dialysis, as well as the staff working in dialysis centers who provide this life-saving therapy to be placed in Tier 1a.
- Posted Thursday, April 15, 2021 @ 11:37 AM
ASN Asks ACIP to Priortize People on Dialysis and Dialysis Staff for COVID-19 Vaccination
ASN requests the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and experts at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect patients with kidney diseases. People with kidney failure receiving dialysis are some of the very most vulnerable to COVID-19. ASN, therefore, respectfully requests the Advisory Committee prioritize people on dialysis and staff who work in the dialysis environment for receiving vaccination for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and place them in Tier 1a.
- Posted Saturday, December 19, 2020 @ 8:59 AM
ASN Wins Improvements to Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model
After significant outreach from the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and ASN members with accepted applications to the Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Model – the voluntary model, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) adopted a serious of requested improvements on October 15, 2020.
- Posted Thursday, October 22, 2020 @ 4:26 PM
ASN Responds to the Great Barrington Declaration
The Great Barrington Declaration proposal offers to stop widespread efforts to avoid infection and instead allow the natural spread of infection leading to the subsequent development of immunity. The American Society of Nephrology''s (ASN''s) COVID-19 Response Team responds to this proposal stating that there is no realistic way to permit infection only to those who will not suffer complications.
- Posted Thursday, October 22, 2020 @ 12:29 PM
ASN Opposes Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) opposes the Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping issued on Tuesday, September 22, 2020. The society calls for immediate revisions to or recension of this misguided executive order.
- Posted Thursday, October 08, 2020 @ 4:11 PM
ASN Requests HHS to Finalize OPO Conditions for Coverage
ASN urges Health and Human Services leadership to formalize and enact objective and verifiable metrics to measure the performance of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), described in the OPO Conditions for Coverage Proposed Rule released on December 17, 2019.
- Posted Friday, October 02, 2020 @ 11:34 AM
ASN Statement on Foreign-Trained Physicians' Contributions to the U.S. Health System
ASN is concerned by the recently proposed rule from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to eliminate "duration of status" as an authorized period of stay for certain nonimmigrant visas (F, I, and J). Nearly 50% of US nephrologists are international medical graduates, and the society will comment on the proposed rule in the near future. ASN issued the following statement on foreign-trained physicians'' contributions to the U.S. health system and the society's efforts to remove barriers that prevent foreign-trained physicians from contributing to the nation's health care.
- Posted Wednesday, September 30, 2020 @ 3:22 PM
ASN RESPONDS TO THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE LETTER ON RACIAL HEALTH EQUITY
In response to the Ways and Means Committee, ASN highlighted the efforts of the NKF-ASN Task Force on Reassessing the Inclusion of Race in Diagnosing Kidney Disease and ASN's work to dismantle racism and disparities in kidney health.
- Posted Friday, September 25, 2020 @ 6:30 PM
