Congress Must Fund Kidney Disease Prevention at CDC
Congress Must Fund Kidney Disease Prevention at CDC
National Kidney Foundation CEO Gives Testimony to Congress on Appropriations
March 23, 2023, New York, NY — The following statement is from Kevin Longino, Chief Executive Officer and kidney transplant recipient, regarding his testimony at today’s Public Witness Day for the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
“The costs of kidney disease are astronomical. One in four Medicare dollars are spent on individuals with chronic kidney disease, yet, we invest mere pennies on kidney related research and prevention activities.
Kidney related research at the National Institutes of Health was funded at $687 million in FY 23 and the CDC’s chronic kidney disease was funded at only $4.5 million. Kidney X – a public private partnership designed to drive innovation in kidney disease – receives only $5 million.
This is bad economics – or bad business – no matter how you look at it. The National Kidney Foundation is calling for change to the nation’s federal approach from one that currently pays for kidney disease to one that emphasizes kidney health.
On behalf of kidney patients across the country, NKF continues to ask for substantial increases to the programs at CDC and NIH that provide the kidney disease screening, early detection, prevention, and research work that we know pays off in improved patient lives and cost savings.”
Resources
On Demand Link to Testimony: https://appropriations.house.gov/legislation/hearings/public-witness-day-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related
Kevin Longino’s Full Written Testimony:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP07/20230323/115507/HHRG-118-AP07-Wstate-LonginoK-20230323.pdf
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.
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