Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils of a Treatment Guaranteed to All
Nearly 40 years after Congress created a unique entitlement for patients with kidney failure, U.S. death rates and per-patient costs are among the world's highest while the biggest for-profit providers flourish.
The Story So Far
Dialysis holds a special place in U.S. medicine. In the 1960’s, it was the nation’s signature example of rationing, an expensive miracle therapy available only to a lucky few. A decade later, when Congress created a special entitlement to pay for it, dialysis became the country’s most ambitious experiment in universal care.
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Billions in tax dollars keep 400,000 Americans on dialysis alive, but the system is riddled with problems. Help us keep this important investigation going.
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