26 Million Americans Now Have Kidney Disease: What Congress Can Do to Help Educate...

26 Million Americans Now Have Kidney Disease: What Congress Can Do to Help
Educate Patients, Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs

On Wednesday, May 21, kidney disease patient advocates representing the
National Kidney Foundation's (NKF's) "People Like Us" and Dialysis Patient
Citizens (DPC) will gather with kidney care experts for a Capitol Hill
briefing to discuss the importance of improving education and awareness and
ensuring quality care for kidney disease in America.

The briefing kicks off a two-day "Kidney Care Day" fly-in hosted by NKF and
DPC, in which 40 patients representing 24 states across the nation are meeting
with their Members of Congress to urge the inclusion of the Kidney Care
Quality and Education Act (S.691) in the Medicare bill currently being
considered in the Senate. A key component of this legislation is the
establishment of a Medicare pre-dialysis education benefit, which was already
included in the House Medicare bill passed last summer.

Patient advocates will describe their personal experiences in living with
kidney disease, and explain the need for Congress to pass legislation that
would provide comprehensive treatment information to patients prior to the
initiation of dialysis.

WHO:John Davis, CEO, National Kidney Foundation
Chad Lennox, Executive Director, Dialysis Patient Citizens
Andreas Price, NKF "People Like Us" patient representative
Beverly Schroeder and Angela Lattimore, DPC patient representatives

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21
1:00 - 1:45 p.m.

WHERE: U.S. Capitol
Room H-137

WHY: Approximately 26 million Americans have chronic kidney disease
(CKD), and millions more are at increased risk for developing it. However,
most people with CKD do not realize they have it. CKD can lead to irreversible
kidney failure and can cause heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure,
anemia, bone disease and malnutrition.

As CKD's leading risk factors - such as diabetes, high blood pressure and
obesity - continue to rise, it is important for Americans to learn about the
disease, how to help avoid it, and how to manage it. With the provision of
pre-dialysis education for patients, the complications and cost of kidney
disease can be reduced.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- May 20/

SOURCE National Kidney Foundation

RSVP: Alisann Fatemi, +1-703-887-1493, afatemi@schmidtpa.com, for National
Kidney Foundation