Trump directs government to revamp care for kidney disease

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday revamping care for kidney disease so more people whose kidneys fail can have a chance at early transplants and home dialysis, and others don’t get that sick in the first place.

Trump said his order was aimed at “making life better and longer for millions” by increasing the supply of donated kidneys, making it easier for patients to have dialysis in the comfort of their own homes and prioritizing the development of an artificial kidney.

The changes won’t happen overnight because some initiatives will require new government regulations.

Because a severe organ shortage complicates the call for more transplants, the Trump administration will try to ease the financial hardships for living donors by reimbursing them for expenses such as lost wages and child care.

Today’s system favors expensive, time-consuming dialysis in large centers over easier-to-tolerate athome care or transplants that help patients live longer. More than 30 million American adults have chronic kidney disease, costing Medicare $113 billion.

Careful treatment — including control of diabetes and high blood pressure, the two main culprits — can help prevent further kidney deterioration.

But more than 700,000 people have end-stage renal disease, meaning their kidneys have failed, and require either a transplant or dialysis to survive.

Only about one-third received specialized kidney care before they got so sick.