Approximately 468,000 Americans are on dialysis, according to the National Institutes of Health, and Medicare spending on dialysis accounts for nearly 1 percent of the federal budget.

By Gretchen Frazee

Washington Post columnist Art Buchwald succumbed to kidney failure at home with his family late Wednesday, but was able to spend his last year enjoying life and writing about his experiences. Here are excerpts from a March 2006 NewsHour interview…