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Why Medicare’s Payment System Keeps New Dialysis Drugs from Reaching Patients

2025-05-07T13:39:04-04:00May 7th, 2025|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Dialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

Jackson Williams, DPC Vice President of Public Policy Payment bundling is a technique Medicare uses to increase efficiency and reduce low-value care during a treatment episode. Congress adopted a payment bundle for dialysis a decade ago and for several years it worked well. But trade-offs are inherent in bundles and there is always potential for a negative impact on consumers. This negative experience has arrived for dialysis patients in the form of non—prescribing of new drugs. Patients are missing out on improvements to their health and quality of life. A bundled payment sets a maximum price for all [...]

Phosphorus: A Hidden Challenge in Dialysis

2025-05-07T13:30:08-04:00May 7th, 2025|Categories: Dialysis, Medication, Quality of Life, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen, Treatment|

Natalie Zuniga, DCP Board Vice President I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) – or kidney failure – soon after a heart attack seven years ago. Like many ESRD patients upon diagnosis, I immediately thought of my mortality and what my death would mean for my family. But I knew that kidney failure wasn’t a death sentence. My husband, Eddie, had been on dialysis for five years when I was diagnosed with ESRD, so he gave me a sense of what life with kidney failure would mean. Today, we navigate dialysis treatment together, including the strict [...]

Ask the Doctor May 2025

2025-05-07T13:27:31-04:00May 7th, 2025|Categories: Dialysis, Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, Nutrition, Physical Health, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

Velma Scantlebury, MD, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant 1. What is the impact of phosphorus on kidney patients? For patients with kidney disease on dialysis, they are unable to remove excess phosphorus from the blood. This leads to high phosphorus levels, also known as hyperphosphatemia. Since dialysis does not remove phosphorus, it is important to limit foods high in phosphorus to avoid a build-up in various places in the body. Too much phosphorus results in the following: Bone and heart problems: Excess phosphorus causes your body to pull calcium out of your bones, making them weak and [...]

Ask the Doctor September 2024

2024-09-23T13:54:19-04:00September 23rd, 2024|Categories: Dialysis, Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, Physical Health, The Kidney Citizen|

Velma Scantlebury, MD, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant 1. I have been on dialysis for three months. After treatment in the dialysis facility, I am tired and feel bloated. When will I begin to feel better? Dialysis removes excess fluid and waste products. This happens by shifting fluid from one compartment so that the dialysis process can remove the extra fluid. This «dialysis fatigue» is experienced by about 50% of patients. Anemia, electrolyte imbalance, and stress can also be contributors to the condition. Many recommend getting plenty of rest, eating more protein, eating a balanced diet, and [...]

Ask the Doctor April 2024

2024-04-26T15:35:18-04:00April 26th, 2024|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Dialysis, Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, The Kidney Citizen, What Causes Kidney Disease|

Velma Scantlebury, MD, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant 1. Will a transplanted patient who receives a kidney from a diabetic individual become diabetic? Diabetes results from a lack of the ability of your body to produce/and or use insulin effectively. If a kidney is used from a deceased donor who is diabetic, it is often biopsied to make sure that the kidney is not damaged from diabetes. Some transplant patients are at risk of becoming diabetic due to the anti-rejection medications used, including the use of steroids to treat rejection episodes. Therefore, your risk of becoming diabetic [...]

The Making of An Advocate

2024-03-28T20:57:25-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Dialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, Mental Health, Support, The Kidney Citizen, Treatment|

Gene Blankenship, DPC Board of Directors Thinking about Life Sitting in my recliner watching the leaves fall like big fat orange snowflakes, I see the trees begin to change colors. My immediate first thought is “How many more seasons of change will I see? Is this my last fall”? Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) is a constant passenger in my life. Anytime you have a passenger with you for long periods of time, you will go through events together that stamp your life. For example, as a child, I watched Eugene Taylor Jr., my dad, hook himself up every [...]

8 Ways to Be a Safe Patient

2024-03-28T20:57:28-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Immunizations, Medication, Physical Health, Resources, Staying Healthy, The Kidney Citizen|

When you have surgery, receive dialysis, or visit your doctor, you deserve safe care. Everyone plays a role in patient safety and quality health care. CDC and its partners provide expertise, data, and programs for safe health care to support public health, healthcare workers, patients, and caregivers. How Can I Be a Safe Patient? Speak up. Talk to your healthcare provider about any questions or worries. Ask what they’re doing to protect you from infections. Keep hands clean. Make sure everyone, including friends and family, cleans their hands before touching you. If you don’t see your healthcare providers clean their [...]

Ask the Doctor

2024-03-28T20:57:29-04:00June 14th, 2023|Categories: Costs for Treatment, Dialysis, Hemodialysis, Home Hemodialysis, In-Center Hemodialysis, Kidney Transplant, Medication, The Kidney Citizen|

Velma Scantlebury, MD, DPC Education Center Health Care Consultant 1. Four hours is too long for me to sit in dialysis. Do I have to attend every treatment? Answer: Think of dialysis as being the only way to get the toxins out of your body from the food that you consume everyday - three times a day. When you lose kidney function and are on dialysis, you are usually then only cleansing your body every other day. Those toxins will build up and can cause your body to deteriorate over time. Missing dialysis is harmful to your body. [...]

A Step Forward: Inhibiting APOL1 (Gene) to Treat Kidney Disease

2024-03-28T20:57:32-04:00June 5th, 2023|Categories: Early Intervention, eNews, Medication|

By V. Scantlebury, MD, FACS, DPC Education Center Healthcare Consultant A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Egbuna and colleagues (1) reported that in a small study, patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) who are homozygous for the variants in the gene encoding apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) when treated with the drug Inaxaplin, (which inhibits APOL1 function) demonstrated significantly reduced protein excretion. Inaxaplin is the first investigational therapy that is directed at treating  APOL1-mediated kidney disease. Why is this significant? There is a disproportionate burden of chronic kidney disease in persons of African ancestry. FSGS and other [...]

ADA Advises New BP, Lipid Targets for People With Diabetes

2024-03-28T20:57:35-04:00April 5th, 2023|Categories: eNews, Medication, Staying Healthy|

By V. Scantlebury, MD, FACS, DPC Education Center Healthcare Consultant The American Diabetes Association has recently made more aggressive changes to the Standard of Care in Diabetes -2023. Published in December 2022 as a supplement in Diabetes Care, this document is considered the gold standard for the care of over 100 million Americans living with diabetes and pre-diabetes. Below is a summary of some of the recommendations: A blood pressure target for people with diabetes of less than 130/80 mmHg, if it can be reached safely. Blood pressure targets should be individualized through a shared decision-making process that addresses the [...]

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