Exclusive: HHS releases new kidney care plan

A new Trump administration plan for kidney care, provided first to Axios, calls for injecting more competition into treatment markets, incentivizing innovation and focusing more on preventive care.Why it matters: Chronic kidney disease is common, expensive and deadly. But it often goes undetected until patients enter late stages when treatment options are more limited.Driving the news: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is announcing the plan today in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a broader agenda aimed at fighting chronic disease.It comes on the heels of the a crackdown on organ donation organizations that are typically compensated based on transplant and donation rates.The new plan takes a more holistic approach, proposing ways to address what it calls "structural deficiencies" in care.It calls for changes to the dialysis market — now dominated by industry giants DaVita and Fresenius — as well as the transplant system.Between the lines: The plan takes the view that government overreach is partly responsible for some of the system's failures, arguing that, "in many cases, government should do less, focusing its efforts on promoting accountability, competition, and innovation.…

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