The Kidney Patient Access to Technologically Innovative and Essential Nephrology Treatments Act of 2023 (H.R. 5074), abbreviated as the Kidney PATIENT Act of 2023, was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on March 6 by a vote of 41-1.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Carol Miller (R-WV), would amend the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and ensure that people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have access to critical care and affordable oral medications.*

What the bill will do if passed into law

A press release concerning the vote explains that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are slated to move oral-only drugs into the Medicare Part B End-Stage Renal Disease prospective payment system (in which Medicare payments are made based on a predetermined, fixed amount) in 2025. 

The move would restrict access to medications and increase dialysis treatment costs for CKD patients. If passed, the Kidney PATIENT Act will push this back until 2027 or until access to new, affordable therapies becomes available.

“Patients with ESRD often take several drugs and supplements in addition to dialyzing multiple times a week,” stated Miller during the Committee hearing. “One type of drug that patients take is phosphate binders, which help patients maintain healthy levels of phosphate in their blood. These drugs help to stop cardiac events and treat bone disorder in ESRD patients…The Kidney PATIENT Act will allow patients to continue to access oral-only kidney disease therapies through their Medicare Part D benefit until 2027, and require HHS to study and report on the effects of these drugs remaining out of the ESRD bundle—enabling Congress to understand what the implications would be if these drugs are to be shifted out of Part D.”

Next steps for the Kidney PATIENT Act

The bill, which Rep. Sewell co-sponsored and Rep. Miller introduced to the House on July 27, 2023, has gained co-sponsorship from six other representatives since September. It still needs to be passed by the House and the Senate before being presented to the president to be signed into law. The recent landslide vote is encouraging.

“It is critically important that we protect access to oral-only therapies for patients with End-Stage Renal Disease,” said Rep. Sewell. “I am absolutely thrilled that the Ways and Means Committee has passed our Kidney PATIENT Act with strong bipartisan support. I thank Congresswoman Miller for her partnership and look forward to continuing to push this bill across the finish line.”

*U.S. Congresswoman Terry Sewell. (2024, March 12). Rep. Sewell’s Kidney PATIENT Act Passes Out of the House Ways and Means Committee. 

https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases?ID=D48BC111-A777-497C-888A-72D66081C538