The Coalition for Kidney Health

The Coalition for Kidney Health (C4KH) is a multistakeholder group of partners with an interest in early detection and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

2022 LDPA bill signing in Minnesota

Our Mission is Simple

Our mission is to transform the landscape for CKD care by advancing legislation and regulatory policies that:

  • Improve awareness of CKD and screening of at-risk patients, and;
  • Drive forward high-quality, coordinated care focused on delaying CKD progression, preventing and managing complications and comorbidities, and empowering patients to make informed, shared decisions about their CKD in partnership with their caregivers and clinicians.
     

2026 Objectives

C4KH is focused on several other initiatives that are underway and will continue into 2026, including efforts to:


number one

Advocate for a USPSTF Screening recommendation for CKD.

number two

Secure widespread adoption of the Kidney Health Evaluation for Adults with Diabetes (KED) measure across federal and non-federal health programs.

number three

Work to expand the KED denominator to include patients with hypertension.

number four

Support legislation and policy changes that expand the scope of and access to benefits like Medical Nutrition therapy and Kidney Disease Education.

number five

Advocate with the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and other agencies to expand CKD surveillance, population health, research and health equity activities.

number six

Leverage the Innovation Center’s specialty care strategy to advance a vision for next generation kidney models.

Recent Achievements

Over the past several years, the Coalition for Kidney Health has accomplished several critical initiatives, specifically:

Introducing ourselves to a new Administration and advocating for the inclusion of kidney disease in the Administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative.

Successfully securing a regulatory change that would allow Medicare Advantage Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans (C-SNPs) to cover both later stages of CKD and ESRD, creating an opportunity for health plans to align with value-based care approaches to early CKD detection and management.

Developing a vision for embedding CKD into the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s value-based care portfolio and advocating for the implementation of this vision with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Shaping reforms to the Kidney Disease Education (KDE) benefit.

Pressing for a US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) CKD screening recommendation even in the backdrop of political upheaval. The Coalition submitted lengthy comments to the United States Preventive Services Task Force on its proposed research plan and sent follow-up comments when the final research plan still fell short of expectations.

Pushing for changes to the Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment methodology to ensure appropriate reimbursement and management for CKD and associated risk factors.

Submitting comments to the Physician Fee Schedule in support of several policies that affect CKD screening and management.

Fall 2025

Coalition White Paper

Coalition One-Pager

A Vision for Value-Based Approaches to Early Kidney Disease Prevention and Management

How to Get Involved

If you are interested in joining the Coalition for Kidney Health, please contact: 

Miriam Godwin, NKF Vice President of Health Policy, miriam.godwin@kidney.org

Teddy Mosher, Corporate Relations Director, giles.mosher@kidney.org