Northwest Kidney Centers signed a letter sent today to leaders of the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The letter asks that the committees appropriate at least $2.1 billion for the coming fiscal year for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It also asks for an increase of $150 million per year over 10 years for NIDDK kidney research. “Investing in research to slow or halt the progression of kidney disease and improve therapies for patients would yield significant savings to Medicare and taxpayers in the long run,” the signers wrote.
NIDDK-funded research led to a groundbreaking discovery that helps explain racial and ethnic disparities that increase risks for kidney disease, and to other findings about why patients with kidney disease are at greater risk for heart disease. The Kidney Research Institute, Northwest Kidney Centers’ collaboration with UW Medicine, has been a beneficiary of NIDDK funding.
Among the letter’s recipients is Washington Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that will take up the bill.
Tags: advocacy, diabetes, kidney research