In July 2019, an Executive Order was signed to launch the Advancing American Kidney Health (AAKH) initiative to transform the way we prevent and treat kidney disease. To accomplish the goals of the AAKH initiative, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) payment model to encourage preventative kidney care, home dialysis, and kidney transplants.
To support the ETC model’s focus on increased kidney transplants, CMS, in collaboration with the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), has established the ESRD Treatment Choices Learning Collaborative (ETCLC). The ETCLC will bring transplant centers, Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), donor hospitals, patients, and families together to improve quality and generate cost savings to CMS using systematic quality and process improvement methods.
This work will be supported by a National Faculty and Leadership Coordinating Council made up of more than 20 organizations in the field, including The Alliance.
