President Trump refuses to accept the status quo on one of America’s deadliest diseases
Across America, 37 million patients suffer from chronic kidney disease. Each year, more than 100,000 begin dialysis to treat end-stage renal disease—50 percent of whom die within five years.
That mortality rate is far too high. All told, kidney disease ranks as the ninth leading cause of death in America. The current quality of care for these patients is unacceptable, and the treatment options available to them are far too expensive.
President Donald J. Trump, as with so many other issues confronting America, has refused to accept that awful status quo. At the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington today, he signed an executive order that takes the biggest step in decades toward advancing American kidney health.
? President Trump: It’s time to get “Americans off these waitlists.”
“Today we’re taking groundbreaking action to bring new hope to millions of Americans suffering from kidney disease,” he said.
Under President Trump’s new order, Medicare will test adjusting payment incentives to encourage preventative kidney care, as well as the use of home dialysis and kidney transplants. Furthermore, the President is directing his Administration to develop a process to get artificial kidneys to patients and expedite the process of kidney matching.
And crucially, the President is beginning the process of removing financial barriers to organ donation, including by allowing for the reimbursement of lost wages and childcare expenses faced by organ donors.
“For these patients, their loved ones, and for the impacted—all those impacted by kidney disease—I’m here to say: We are fighting by your side, and we’re determined to get you the best treatment anywhere in the world,” President Trump said.
President Trump’s executive order is a bold new approach to kidney treatment.
President Trump: “We are with you every step of the way.”
