Dialysis Spending Is Out of Control. Here’s How to Rein It In.
The government lays out tens of billions of dollars annually on treatments for kidney failure. Greater competition in the industry would benefit patients and taxpayers alike.
The US can do better.
Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images
More than 800,000 Americans suffer from life-threatening kidney failure. Paying for treatment of this condition costs the government more than $50 billion a year, and a recent Supreme Court decision risks driving the price tag even higher. Congress should take steps to promote innovation and competition in the dialysis industry — which would benefit patients and taxpayers alike.
Without dialysis or a kidney transplant, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is fatal. As recently as the early 1970s, both procedures were too expensive for most Americans. In 1972, Congress passed a law that extended Medicare coverage to almost all ESRD patients, regardless of age. Since its creation, the program has grown from 10,000 beneficiaries to more than 600,000 today.