HHS Launches Landmark National Plan to Transform Kidney Care in America

WASHINGTON, D.C.-OCTOBER 20, 2026-The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched the Kidney Care National Plan, a coordinated department-wide strategy focused on revitalizing American kidney care.

As part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, the new Kidney Care National Plan will address the root cause of disease and implement better treatments for Americans at every stage of kidney disease. The Plan identifies where federal action can improve kidney care across the entire spectrum of kidney disease, eliminate regulatory barriers to support innovation and a well-functioning kidney market, and deliver greater choice and superior outcomes to Americans.

"President Trump changed the course of kidney care in 2019 by challenging a system that waited for patients to reach kidney failure," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. "Now HHS is building on that work by detecting kidney disease earlier, expanding treatment and home-care options, removing barriers to innovation and transplantation, and strengthening safety across the transplant system. Our goal is simple: preserve kidney health, give patients more choices, and help more Americans avoid kidney failure and live longer, healthier lives."

Kidney disease is one of the nation's most common chronic diseases, affecting an estimated 37 million American adults. However, most of those affected by kidney disease do not know that they have it, so too often, treatment begins only after significant damage has occurred. This delay limits opportunities to slow disease progression and leaves patients dependent on lifelong dialysis or a kidney transplant.

To address this massive gap in kidney care, President Trump signed the landmark Executive Order Advancing American Kidney Health in 2019. The Executive Order established a federal vision to prevent kidney failure, expand patient choice, and increase access to transplantation. Significant progress has been made since then, and HHS remains committed to carrying that vision forward.

The 2026 Kidney Care National Plan centers on three priorities:

• Prevent Kidney Failure: Detect kidney disease earlier, intervene sooner, and advance treatments and technologies that can slow or stop disease progression.
• Improve Dialysis Care and Expand Patient Choice: Promote competition, reduce barriers to entry for new providers and treatments, expand access to home-based care, and support innovations that improve outcomes and quality of life.
• Reform Transplantation: Strengthen safety, transparency, and accountability across the transplant system while expanding access to living and deceased-donor transplantation.

As a pillar of the Kidney Care National Plan, HHS will advance a National Transplant Expansion Strategy that builds on the foundation established by President Trump's 2019 Executive Order. The strategy will make living donation easier and more accessible so more patients can receive the transplants they need.

"To Make America Healthy Again, we must confront chronic disease before it becomes catastrophic - and kidney disease is a clear example," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "Too many Americans are diagnosed after serious damage has occurred, while our system often waits for kidney failure instead of acting sooner. Building on the Trump Administration's work in the first term, this plan puts prevention first and challenges policies that limit competition, innovation, and patient choice. We will continue working to remove unnecessary barriers and hold the system accountable for delivering better care."

HHS is already advancing significant work across the kidney care continuum, including:

• Accelerating New Therapies: Over the last 12 months, FDA has expanded the treatment landscape for serious kidney diseases through a series of approvals, including the first FDA-approved treatment for certain patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and the first treatment for adults with complement 3 glomerulopathy to reduce proteinuria, as well as new therapies for immunoglobulin A nephropathy and idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. Several of these products received Orphan Drug, Breakthrough Therapy, or Priority Review designations, while others were granted accelerated approval, reflecting FDA's use of multiple regulatory pathways to advance treatments for serious diseases, including rare conditions.
• Advancing Prevention through KidneyX: Through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), HHS is investing up to $4.67 million in the KidneyX Prize Competition: Nourishing Kidney Health, in partnership with the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), which brings deep clinical and scientific expertise in kidney health. The prize will advance earlier cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) risk identification and care, alongside practical nutrition and lifestyle strategies to slow chronic kidney disease progression, preserve kidney function, and improve quality of life.
• Measuring the Benefits of Transplantation: An analysis released today by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) finds that kidney transplants grew faster following President Trump's 2019 Executive Order. The analysis associates the policy with roughly 2,000 additional kidney transplants per year, with projected economic benefits reaching $200 billion through 2040.
• Removing Barriers to Living Organ Donation: Following the passage of the HOLD Act in February 2026, HRSA worked with stakeholders to implement the law and revise eligibility guidelines for the Living Organ Donor Reimbursement Program. Within the year, HRSA enacted these changes, streamlining the process and reducing significant financial barriers to living organ donation.
• Strengthening Accountability in Organ Procurement: HHS has moved to decertify organ procurement organizations that failed to meet federal standards for safety, performance, and accountability, following reviews that identified persistent patient safety failures and insufficient improvement despite oversight and corrective action.

"Millions of people living with kidney failure deserve the best chance at a longer, healthier life. For many, a kidney transplant offers that chance," said HRSA Administrator Tom Engels. "These reforms will help more patients get the transplants they need and improve outcomes across the transplant system."

The Kidney Care National Plan sets the direction for the next phase of HHS action on kidney disease. Agencies across the Department will use the plan to advance policy, payment, research, regulatory, and oversight actions that improve prevention of kidney disease while expanding treatment options for patients.

FACT SHEET: Kidney Care National Plan