Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act
Sponsored By: Senator Bill Cassidy
Introduced
Summary
Restore Medicare Secondary Payer protections for people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and stop private health plans from treating dialysis worse than other covered services. The bill clarifies that plans may not shift primary payment responsibility for dialysis to Medicare and that singling out dialysis for disfavored treatment is prohibited, while preserving a plan's discretion to exclude particular dialysis providers from its network.
Show full summary
- People with ESRD: Private plans may not differentiate benefits or apply limitations that disparately affect dialysis care, protecting access to covered dialysis services.
- Private health plans: Bars benefit rules based on ESRD diagnosis or need for renal dialysis, but lets plans decide which dialysis providers they include in networks.
- Medicare program: Reinforces that Medicare should not be made the primary payer through plan actions that shift costs for dialysis onto the program.
- Dialysis providers: Plans can still exclude specific renal dialysis providers from networks; enforcement follows existing nonconformance rules in 42 C.F.R. part 411.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
No benefit discrimination for dialysis patients
If enacted, this bill would stop group health plans from treating people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) or who need dialysis differently. Plans could not cut or limit benefits or build networks in a way that singles out ESRD patients. Plans would still be allowed to choose which dialysis providers are in their network. The Secretary would enforce the rule using existing nonconformance procedures. The change would take effect upon enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Bill Cassidy
LA • R
Cosponsors
Cory Booker
NJ • D
Sponsored 3/27/2025
Kevin Cramer
ND • R
Sponsored 3/27/2025
Martin Heinrich
NM • D
Sponsored 3/27/2025
Roger Marshall
KS • R
Sponsored 9/11/2025
Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS • R
Sponsored 10/1/2025
Ted Budd
NC • R
Sponsored 10/29/2025
Marsha Blackburn
TN • R
Sponsored 12/18/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in