LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OPPOSING THE DIALYSIS PATIENT DEMONSTRATION ACT (HR 4143)

OPPOSE THE DIALYSIS PATIENTS DEMONSTRATION ACT (H.R. 4143)

The American Association of Kidney Patients and the American Society of Nephrology oppose the Dialysis PATIENT Demonstration Act of 2017 (Revisions to H.R. 4143). 

The Act is bad for Dialysis Patients because it:

1.      Restricts Patient Choice by automatically enrolling patients without their knowledge and consent and providing a short 75-day period to opt out.  Patients must then wait a full year before they can change their treatment plans, despite their experiences;

2.     Forces patients on dialysis when a pre-emptive transplant is called for and it prevents critical early detection and treatment.  It keeps them on dialysis longer, costing lives and raising care costs;

3.     Excludes transplanted patients from the model by giving dialysis centers control of when a patient can be transplanted as opposed to transplant center personnel, resulting in poor outcomes and increased costs;

4.     Infringes on the physician-patient relationship by not permitting the outside physician of the patient’s choice from visiting in the dialysis lab.

Please contact your Member of Congress and request a no vote on the Dialysis PATIENT Demonstration Act. (https://aakp.org/action-center/).