Sewell's Kidney PATIENT Act passes out of the Committee in the House

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL07) and Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) celebrated as their Bipartisan Kidney Patient Access to Technologically Innovative and Essential Nephrological Treatments (PATIENT) Act passed 41 to 1 in the House Ways and Means Committee. Reps. Sewell and Miller introduced the legislation to provide access to critical care and affordable oral medicines for chronic kidney disease patients.

"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."

"I was thrilled to see the Kidney PATIENT Act pass nearly unanimously out of the Ways and Means Committee and be one step closer to becoming law," said Rep. Miller. "This bill will provide patients with access to oral-only kidney disease therapies through their Medicare Part D benefit until 2027. Bipartisan support of the Kidney PATIENT Act from the Ways and Means Committee shows how important it is to take care of ESRD patients across the country. I look forward to the bill continuing to move forward in the House of Representatives."

Unless Congressional action is taken, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will move oral-only drugs into the Medicare Part B End-Stage Renal Disease (ERSD) prospective payment system in 2025. Advocates are concerned that this move will restrict access to medications and increase dialysis treatment costs for kidney disease patients. The Kidney PATIENT Act will delay this move until 2027 or until new therapies come to the market to ensure patients are able to access affordable medications for their health. Approximately 100,000 Americans are currently awaiting a kidney transplant. For many they will die waiting. Treating kidney illnesses before end stage has the potential to save $million in healthcare costs while prolonging lives.

Sewell is serving in her seventh term representing Alabama's Seventh Congressional District. She recently won the Democratic nomination for her eighth term.