Medicare's end stage renal disease program

Perhaps no other Federal Government program can lay claim to have saved as many lives as the Medicare end stage renal disease (ESRD) program. Since it s inception in 1973, as a result of the Social Security Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92-603, section 2991), over 1 million persons have received lif e-saving renal replacement therapy under this program. Prior to the enactme nt of this legislation, treatment was limited to a very few patients due to its extremely high cost and the limited number of dialysis machines. In th e 1960s, it was not uncommon for hospitals that had dialysis machines to ap point special committees to review applicants for dialysis and decide who s hould receive treatment, the others were left to die of renal failure. Publ ic Law 92-603 removed this odious task from the nephrology community. A per son with ESRD is entitled to Medicare if he/she is fully or currently insur ed for benefits under Social Security, or is a spouse or dependent of an in sured person. consequently, entitlement is less than universal, with 92 per cent of all persons with ESRD qualifying for Medicare coverage.