House Passes DelBene Bill Expanding Access to Home Dialysis

Press Release

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today welcomed House passage of her bipartisan bill (H.R. 3164), which was included in the Medicare Part B Improvement Act.

DelBene introduced H.R. 3164 with Reps. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Patrick Meehan (R-PA-07) and Mike Thompson (D-CA-05) to expand access to home dialysis therapy under the Medicare program for patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD).

"Allowing patients to receive dialysis at home can dramatically improve their health outcomes and quality of life. Advances in telehealth hold great potential to extend this treatment option to more Americans, particularly in rural communities," DelBene said. "We must ensure our laws reflect these innovations by allowing Medicare to cover healthcare services provided through telehealth. As co-chair of the Congressional Kidney Caucus, I thank Congressman Black for working with me to pass this legislation, which will help break down barriers to home dialysis and unlock the promise of telehealth."

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee marked up Chairman Kevin Brady's (R-TX-08) Medicare Part B Improvement Act, which included H.R. 3164. DelBene and Black's bill would grant the reimbursement of telehealth services for beneficiaries in their homes, and allows ESRD care providers to use telehealth for home dialysis monitoring. This provision would allow for necessary patient monitoring without additional trips to a provider's office.

The Northwest Kidney Centers and Alliance for Home Dialysis have both endorsed the legislation.

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