Press Releases

Today, Congressional Kidney Caucus Co-Chairs Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Larry Bucshon, M.D. (IN-08) led a bipartisan group of 44 members of Congress urging federal health regulators to develop a screening recommendation for people at high risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

CKD is the 10^th leading cause of death in the United States and significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly among people with diabetes. This disease disproportionately impacts Black Americans, who have higher rates of CKD and kidney failure.

Recent scientific breakthroughs have made CKD screenings more effective but only if patients are tested early enough. Still, 90 percent of people with CKD are unaware of their condition and only 30 percent of people with common risk factors are screened for CKD.

“Given the urgency of this public health crisis disproportionately burdening underserved Americans, a federal screening recommendation would significantly contribute to early diagnosis and timely intervention,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). “This would potentially prevent the progression to advanced stages of kidney disease, improving overall care.”

Medicare spends over $136 billion annually on CKD care and $50 billion on kidney failure treatment. Given the federal government’s unique role and responsibility in caring for people with kidney diseases and kidney failure, early detection and intervention for high-risk groups like those with hypertension and diabetes can prevent costly kidney failure and reduce the overall healthcare burden.

Screening recommendations made by USPSTF allow them to be covered with little or no cost-sharing for eligible people, making them significantly more accessible.

The full text of the letter can be found here.