7/10/2019

HEALTHCARE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump issued a sweeping set of proposals aimed at improving medical care for the tens of millions of Americans who have kidney disease, a long-overlooked condition that kills more people than breast cancer. ‘This is a first, second and third step. It’s more than just a first step,’ Mr. Trump said in a speech Wednesday [7-10-19], which was attended by patients, advocates and industry executives. Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to educate and treat people with early forms of kidney disease, to make kidney transplants easier to get, and to shift the financial incentives for clinics and doctors away from the existing system that relies heavily on dialysis…The president set an ambitious goal to remake how Americans with kidney disease get treated, by aggressively seeking to lower the costs by encouraging in-home dialysis and organ donation. Both options are seen as better treatment for patients than clinic-based dialysis. However, transforming the area may prove daunting, and many previous efforts have fallen short.”

Reed Abelson and Katie Thomas, “Trump Proposes Ways to Improve Care for Kidney Disease and Increase Transplants,” The New York Times online, July 10, 2019