WASHINGTON, D.C. – (September 9, 2025) – The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC), announced today that its Chairman and one of the nation’s leading experts on the IOTA model, Andy D. Howard, MD, FACP, will deliver two featured presentations at the 22nd Annual Sanford Nephrology, Dialysis, and Transplant Symposium on September 10–11, 2025, in Fargo, North Dakota.

Dr. Howard will speak on the future of the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program and on the Increasing Organ Transplant Access (IOTA) Model, a new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) payment model that began July 1, 2025. The IOTA Model is designed to improve quality, strengthen accountability, and expand access to kidney transplantation while reducing costs for Medicare.

“Too many patients are waiting far too long for a kidney transplant,” said Dr. Andy Howard, MD, FACP, Chair of the Kidney Transplant Collaborative “The IOTA Model is a step toward accountability and improving transplant access in the system, but more must be done. We need to reduce barriers for living donors and make sure patients have the support they need to access transplants more quickly.”

KTC has been a vocal voice for policies that expand kidney donation, reduce Medicare spending, and improve outcomes for patients. The organization has been a leading advocate for the IOTA Model from 2024, which was designed to increase access to life-saving treatments while maintaining high-quality care. The model encourages transplant centers to form partnerships with referring nephrologists and other providers, aligning incentives around expanding kidney transplants. KTC has also called on HHS and CMS to advance additional reforms, including the creation of a Living Donor Facilitator Program to help patients identify willing donors and navigate the transplant process.

The Sanford Symposium brings together leading experts on kidney disease, dialysis, and transplantation to share advances in research, treatment, and policy. Dr. Howard’s participation highlights KTC’s national role in driving solutions to address the kidney transplant crisis.

To learn more, please visit www.kidneytransplantcollaborative.com.

About the Kidney Transplant Collaborative

The Kidney Transplant Collaborative (KTC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing kidney transplants and removing financial and logistical barriers for kidney patients, donors, and their families. Unlike other initiatives, KTC is specifically focused on increasing the number of living donor transplants in the United States through policy advocacy, education, and community organizing. For more details, visit www.kidneytransplantcollaborative.com.