Progress on the End Kidney Deaths Act
The bipartisan End Kidney Deaths Act (EKDA) is making some progress in Congress. Dylan Matthews of Vox has a helpful summary of the legislation and its importance:
A few months ago, I wrote about a proposal called the End Kidney Deaths Act, which seeks to make sure that every one of the more than 135,000 Americans who get diagnosed with kidney failure every year has access to a kidney transplant.
Its method is simple: a federal tax credit worth $10,000 a year for five years, paid to anyone who donates a kidney to a stranger. It’s the kind of thing that would’ve helped a lot when I donated a kidney back in 2016. Elaine Perlman, a fellow kidney donor who leads the Coalition to Modify NOTA, which is advocating for the act, estimates the measure will save 100,000 lives over the first decade it’s enacted, based on conversations with transplant centers on how many surgeries they can perform with their current resources….
Since we last covered it, the Act has taken some huge strides forward. It has been introduced in the House of Representatives with two Republicans (Reps. Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska) and two Democrats (Reps. Josh Harder of California and Joe Neguse of Colorado) in support of it. Dozens of supporters took to the Hill last week for a lobby day, meeting with staff for over 50 other senators and representatives.
As Matthews notes, EKDA is also generating some opposition. Still, it’s good that it has gained so much support so quickly. In the rest of his article, Matthews effectively addresses a variety of criticisms of the Act, such as claims that payment for kidneys is too dangerous for donors, or that such compensation would exploit the poor. I agree with nearly all of his points.
I do have one reservation about the End Kidneys Act, which I laid out in a previous post on the subject:
The major shortcoming of the End Kidney Deaths Act is the implicit price control it creates. By setting the payment at $50,000, it prevents higher payments where that would be necessary to ensure adequate supply. While the Act would save thousan
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